What is the motor carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS)?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) SMS is an automated system that quantifies the on-road safety performance of motor carriers so that FMCSA can identify unsafe carriers, prioritize them for intervention, and monitor if a motor carrier’s safety and compliance problem is improving.

The SMS is not a Safety Fitness Determination nor is it a safety rating pursuant to 49 CFR Part 385; also, it does not represent FMCSA’s final determination about the safety of the carrier. Use of the SMS for purposes other than those identified above may produce unintended results and inaccurate conclusions.

FMCSA highly recommends that all motor carriers periodically review the SMS and, when necessary, initiate a Request for Data Review through DataQs, an electronic data correcting system. The DataQs system is available online at http://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov.