What Is a CSA Score and Why Does It Matter?

CSA stands for Compliance, Safety, Accountability. It is an FMCSA safety compliance and enforcement program designed to identify motor carriers that may present an increased safety risk.

FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System, commonly called SMS, reviews a carrier’s roadside inspection, violation, crash, and investigation data. Most roadside inspection and crash data is evaluated over a rolling 24-month period. (CSA Compliance, Safety, Accountability⁠)

A carrier’s performance is organized into safety categories traditionally known as BASICs:

  • Unsafe Driving

  • Crash Indicator

  • Hours-of-Service Compliance

  • Vehicle Maintenance

  • Controlled Substances and Alcohol

  • Hazardous Materials Compliance

Violations are not all treated equally. FMCSA considers factors such as the severity of the violation, how recently it occurred, the number of relevant inspections, and the carrier’s exposure.

Why Does It Matter?

A poor safety record may:

  • Increase the likelihood of roadside inspections.

  • Cause FMCSA to prioritize the company for additional monitoring or intervention.

  • Damage the company’s reputation with brokers and business partners.

  • Affect insurance costs and available coverage.

  • Make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified drivers.

  • Increase the risk of an investigation or compliance review.

A CSA percentile is not the same as an official federal safety rating. However, the information in SMS is used by FMCSA and enforcement agencies to identify potential safety problems and determine which carriers may require additional attention. (A&I Online⁠)

How Can a Carrier Improve Its Safety Performance?

Carriers should regularly:

  • Review roadside inspections and violations.

  • Dispute incorrect information through DataQs when appropriate.

  • Train drivers based on actual violation patterns.

  • Correct vehicle maintenance problems.

  • Monitor Hours-of-Service and ELD compliance.

  • Maintain complete driver qualification files.

  • Document corrective actions taken after violations.

Paying a ticket does not remove the associated roadside inspection violation from FMCSA records. The most effective approach is to identify the cause of each violation and prevent it from happening again.