• Relevant violations recorded during roadside inspections are used in the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) Methodology.

The Vehicle Maintenance BASIC includes equipment violations and defects discovered during roadside inspections and appearing on roadside inspection reports, including violations associated with brakes, lights, and other mechanical defects, and failure to make required repairs. It also includes violations associated with non-hazardous materials cargo securement.

Vehicle BASIC data sources

The Vehicle Maintenance BASIC uses relevant violations of the safety regulations recorded during roadside inspections and entered by enforcement personnel into SAFETYNET and channeled to the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) .

Roadside inspections are examinations conducted by a Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) inspector on individual commercial motor vehicles and drivers to determine if they are in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and/or Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). Inspection data are taken from MCMIS.

Violations are recorded during inspections, making their way into the MCMIS database. (Note: If a driver is cited and convicted of a violation related to a Vehicle Maintenance BASIC safety regulation, but it does not appear on the roadside inspection report, it will not be entered into MCMIS. It will appear on the driver’s motor vehicle report (MVR), but it will not be factored into the carrier’s BASIC Score.)