When will CSA BASIC scores result in an investigation?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA’s) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) enforcement model uses seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) to help identify those who are high risk.

Six BASICs group similar roadside inspection violations that may cause or increase the severity of a crash, and the seventh BASIC focuses on the details of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes to predict whether the carrier is likely to have another accident. CSA uses this data to generate a “measure” for each BASIC. The algorithms consider the nature of the roadside inspection violation or crash, how recent it occurred, and the carrier’s level of exposure on the road (e.g., number of violations, vehicles, miles traveled, and roadside inspections).

Each BASIC measure is then compared against carriers with similar exposure, and the carrier is assigned a percentile ranking (commonly known as a CSA “score”). If the carrier exceeds a predetermined threshold for the BASIC (roughly 60-80 percent for most), they are more likely to experience an intervention from the agency. Interventions range from warning letters to targeted roadside inspections to investigations.

Refer to the following to determine your risk of a CSA investigation:

High risk of an onsite comprehensive audit:

• At or above the 90th percentile on two or more of these BASICs for two consecutive months: Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, Hours-of-Service (HOS) Compliance, and Vehicle Maintenance; and
• No onsite audit in the last 18 months.

Moderate risk of an audit:

• At or above the intervention threshold on two or more of these BASICs: Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, HOS Compliance, and Vehicle Maintenance;
• No intervention in the last 12 months; and
• No warning letter in the last 6 months.

Some audit risk:

• One or more BASICs at or above the intervention threshold or with unresolved acute or critical violations;
• No intervention in the last 12 months; and
• No warning letter in the last 6 months.

A motor carrier with any BASIC at or above the intervention threshold and who has not already received one in the last 18 months will receive a warning letter urging them to take action to improve their scores. The carrier will then be monitored to ensure their score(s) improve within the next six months.

Off-site investigations are recommended for carriers with two or fewer BASICs requiring investigation. Note, however, that carriers investigated for vehicle maintenance issues will be audited onsite.