“It’s All About The BASICs”
CSA Program Overview
Keith Barrows
Director, Global Health & Safety
Today’s Agenda
What is CSA?
CSA Program Overview
• Behavioral Analysis & Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs)
• The Safety Measurement System (SMS)
The 7 BASICs
FMCSA Interventions
How to Research Your Score
How to Contest a Violation (DataQs)
Wrap Up/ Q&A
Ask These Guys about CSA?
Operations suspended in March 2013
Before we begin……
Test your knowledge of CSA
FMCSA data is collected from which of the
following sources?
a)Roadside Inspections
b)DOT recordable crashes
c)FMCSA investigations
d)All of the above
We did mention this was interactive..right?
A driver’s BASIC scores ___________.
a)Are not reset if they change carriers (jobs)
b)Directly impact their CDL status
c)Will never change
d)Cannot be appealed or amended
Are you impressing your colleagues?
Data collection, Safety Measurement, Safety
Evaluation and Intervention are_____________.
a)The 4 BASICs of the CSA system
b)The 4 statistical tools used to monitor drivers
c)The 4 components of the CSA system
d)The 4 categories of violations a carrier can be
given
Are the questions getting harder?
Why are reckless driving violations given a
higher severity weights by the FMCSA?
a)Research has shown that drivers with a reckless driving
violation are highly likely to be involved in a crash
b)Research has shown that drivers with a reckless driving
violation are highly unlikely to be involved in a crash
c)Reckless driving violations are not given a high severity
weight by FMCSA
d)Reckless driving violations are only given a high severity
weight when they result in a crash
Last one…… I promise.
The Hours of Service compliance BASIC
includes an out-of-service penalty or “kicker”.
What other BASIC includes this penalty?
a)Unsafe Driving BASIC
b)Controlled Substances and Alcohol BASIC
c)Crash Indicator BASIC
d)Hazardous Materials compliance BASIC
What is CSA?
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) is a Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative
to improve both carrier & driver safety, as well as,
reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related
to commercial motor vehicles.
Rolled out in December 2010, the program uses the data and
information collected during Roadside Inspections and carrier
investigations to evaluate safety performance and proactively
address safety problems before they lead to tragedies on the
highways.
CSA Program Overview
There are 4 components to CSA. They are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Data collection
Safety Measurement
Safety Evaluation
Intervention
We’ll review:
•
•
•
How safety data is collected,
What FMCSA does with the data and,
How to keep your scores low
CSA Program Overview - BASICs
At the heart of the CSA safety measurement process
are 7 categories of ‘safety related behaviors’ called
BASICs
1.Unsafe Driving – Speeding, following too close, texting while driving
2.HOS* compliance – log violations, driving
3.Driver Fitness – not having proper license or endorsement, not having
valid medical card
4.Controlled Substances and Alcohol – operating a CMV while
impaired by or in possession of illegal drugs, alcohol or any other controlled
substance
* Hours of service
CSA Program Overview - BASICs
5. Vehicle Maintenance – Cargo securement, equipment inspections
and maintenance regulations
6. Hazardous Materials compliance – Handling, securing and
documentation of hazardous materials
7. Crash Indicator– Documents and tracks DOT-recordable crashes for
both drivers and carriers
CSA Program Overview - BASICs
Knowing the BASICs means
knowing;
•
What they are,
•
How they are scored,
•
What those scores can mean for
you and your drivers
We’ll come back to the BASICs but,
first we need to review the Safety
Measurement System (SMS)
The Safety Measurement System (SMS)
CSA Program Overview - SMS
The Safety Measurement System (SMS) quantifies the onroad safety performance of carriers and drivers to identify
candidates for interventions, determine the specific safety
problems that a carrier or driver exhibits, and to monitor
whether safety problems are improving or worsening.
The SMS uses a motor carrier’s data from roadside
inspections, State-reported crashes (DOT recordable), and
the Federal motor carrier census to quantify performance in
the 7 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories
(BASICs).
CSA Program Overview - SMS
• Roadside Inspections (RSI) occur at
weigh stations or as a result of moving
violations.
• 3.5 Million RSIs performed/year
• RSIs generally have two outcomes
–No violations or “clean inspection”
–Violations noted/written
CSA Program Overview - SMS
When a violation is written, it is assigned a numerical
value for CSA scoring purposes. The value is obtained
as follows:
Severity weighting – Using a scale of 1 – 10, each
violation is assigned a value based on its correlation
with crash causation (a value of 10 is most severe)
If the violation also results in an Out of Service (OOS)
order there is a penalty or “kicker” of 2 points applied to
the severity. (applies to HOS, Driver Fitness, Vehicle Maintenance
and Hazardous Materials BASICs)
CSA Program Overview - SMS
A Time weighting is then applied to the violation.
This value ranges from 1 – 3 (more emphasis is
placed on recent violations)
The Full Violation Value (FV) is calculated as follows:
FV = Severity weight (+ OOS penalty) x Time weight
The total of all FV’s yields the Basic Measure
The Basic Measure
is not your score!
CSA Program Overview - SMS
After the BASIC measure is determined, the carrier is
then placed in a Safety Event Group (SEG) or peer
group (e.g., other carriers with similar numbers of
inspections and fleet size).
Percentiles from 0 to 100 are then determined by
comparing the BASIC measurements of the carrier to the
measurements of other carriers in the peer group.
A percentile of 100 indicates the worst performance
Like golf… a lower score is BETTER.
CSA Program Overview - SMS
In summary:
Safety Measurement and BASIC score is influenced
by:
The number of adverse safety events (violations related
to that BASIC or crashes)
The severity of violations or crashes
When the safety events occurred (more recent events
are weighted more heavily).
Important fact!
Driver scores are confidential…Carrier scores are PUBLIC
information!
Behavior Analysis & Safety Improvement
Categories (BASICs)
Unsafe Driving — Operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs)
by drivers in a dangerous or careless manner. Example violations:
Speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change, and inattention.
This is a standalone BASIC, meaning it is most associated with crash
causation. Violations tend to have more severe weightings
Hours-of-Service (HOS) Compliance — Operation of CMVs by
drivers who are ill, fatigued, or in non-compliance with the HOS
regulations. This BASIC includes violations of regulations pertaining
to log books. This is also a standalone BASIC
Driver Fitness — Operation of CMVs by drivers who are unfit to
operate a CMV due to lack of training, experience, or medical
qualifications. Example violations: Failure to have a valid and
appropriate driver’s license, endorsement and/or being medically
unqualified to operate a CMV. This BASIC has nothing to do with
physical fitness. It should be called Drive Qualification.
Behavior Analysis & Safety Improvement
Categories (BASICs)
Controlled Substances/Alcohol — Operation of CMVs by drivers
who are impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of
prescription or over-the-counter medications. (FMCSR Parts 382 and
392)
Vehicle Maintenance — Failure to properly maintain a CMV and/or
properly prevent shifting loads. Example violations: Brakes, lights,
and other mechanical defects, failure to make required repairs, and
improper load securement.
Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance — Unsafe handling of HM
on a CMV. Example violations: Release of HM from package, no
shipping papers (carrier), and no placards/markings when required.
(Hazardous Materials Regulations Parts 171, 172, 173, 177, 178,
179, and 180)
Crash Indicator — Histories or patterns of high crash involvement,
including frequency and severity. It is based on information from
State-reported crashes regardless of fault
Interventions
Before CSA the primary, if not sole, form of
intervention was a comprehensive on-site audit
Under CSA, a DOT intervention is now typically
issued when a carrier exceeds the established
safety threshold for a particular BASIC
Other intervention triggers include:
– Complaints
– High crash rates
– Fatal crashes
Interventions
Interventions increase in severity as more serious safety
issues are identified
There are 3 categories of interventions
Early Contact
– Warning Letter
– Targeted Roadside Inspections
Investigations
– Off site
– Focused on-site
– Comprehensive on-site
Follow-on
– Cooperative Safety Plan
– Notice of Violation
– Notice of Claim
– Operations Out of Service Order
CSA – Navigating the Portal
Let’s spend a few minutes reviewing CSA scores.
We’ll view both the private and public data……
Because the lawyers and media definitely will!
http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/
DataQs – Are You Up For A Challenge?
If a carrier believes a citation was issued in error or due to
extenuating circumstances beyond a driver’s control, a request for
data review (RDR) can be filed using the DataQs website.
This process helps ensure the accuracy of the information
collected and tracked by the FMCSA and it’ll help make certain
that you’re not being penalized for something your driver didn’t do.
Before filing a DataQs challenge, be sure you’re keeping an eye
on your CSA score. It’s a good idea to set a regular schedule for
reviewing your score and follow up with a process for challenging
any scores that don’t seem legitimate.
https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov
DataQs – Tips for Successful Challenges
1. Make the request as timely as possible. While there is no time
limit on challenging a piece of information contributing to your CSA
score, getting the challenge in before two years is up, when it falls off
the CSA radar is a no-brainer.
2. Specify the correct RDR Type. When inputting your RDR, make
sure you select the appropriate action type, delineating that it has to
do with a particular violation, an inspection, crash, etc.
3. Provide the accurate report number. This refers to your inspection
report — giving the accurate number will help the reviewing state
agency determine whether “this inspection or crash actually
[belongs] to their agency. Is it a valid report number?
DataQs – Tips for Successful Challenges
4. Provide a clear and detailed explanation of what you want
reviewed. In the event that the initial category is insufficient to cover
the full scope of what is needed in your review, use the Explanation
section to elaborate on problems. There may be two or three other
things incorrect on the inspection report. It’s important to have the
reviewing state agency correct them all…. Remember, they have just
as much interest in ensuring all the data on that report is as accurate
as possible.
5. Keep RDRs professional and detailed.
6. Make factual statements. Whenever possible, stick to the facts of
the case without injecting opinion/emotion into the request.
DataQs – Tips for Successful Challenges
7. Ask for additional time as necessary. If you’re waiting on
information, simply fire off an email to the reviewer to let him/her
know you’re working on getting the data. More likely than not, they
will work with you.
8. Provide as much possible supporting documentation that is
valid and relevant. Pictures documenting a supposed maintenance
violation, for instance.
In events where a violation or inspection is wrongly assigned to your
own DOT number or the wrong driver, providing bills of lading, truck
registration documents and/or driver’s license, rental or lease
agreement copies may be appropriate.
This is one of the most important things that you can do to help
resolve an RDR.
DataQs – Tips for Successful Challenges
9. Follow up as appropriate. It is your right to appeal any final
decision made by a state’s DataQs handler.
Two states, Arizona and New Hampshire, have set up official boards
with industry representatives in addition to law enforcement reps to
review these appeals. The remainder of states handle them less
formally, but will re-review your information.
Thank You!
Questions?