FMCSA BASICs Scores: A Complete Guide for Carriers

The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program is the FMCSA's system for identifying high-risk motor carriers and prioritizing them for interventions. At the core of CSA are the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories — better known as BASICs. These seven categories evaluate different aspects of carrier safety using data from roadside inspections, crash reports, and investigation results.

The Seven BASICs Categories

1. Unsafe Driving — Covers violations related to dangerous driving behaviors observed during inspections or resulting in crashes: speeding, reckless driving, improper lane changes, texting, seatbelt violations, and failure to obey traffic signals.

2. Crash Indicator — Based on the carrier's crash history including frequency and severity. This uses state-reported crash data and factors in the number of crashes relative to the carrier's size and exposure.

3. Hours-of-Service Compliance — Evaluates violations of HOS rules including exceeding driving time limits, insufficient rest breaks, falsifying log records, and operating without an ELD when required.

4. Vehicle Maintenance — Looks at equipment-related violations found during inspections: brake defects, tire issues, lighting failures, cargo securement, coupling devices, and frame or suspension problems.

5. Controlled Substances/Alcohol — Tracks violations related to the use or possession of drugs and alcohol, including positive test results, refusal to test, and open container violations.

6. Hazardous Materials Compliance — Applies only to carriers that transport hazmat. Covers improper placarding, leaking containers, insufficient shipping papers, and failure to carry emergency response information.

7. Driver Fitness — Addresses driver qualification violations: operating without a valid CDL, lacking a medical certificate, insufficient training documentation, and failure to meet physical qualification standards.

How Scores Are Calculated

Each BASIC score is a percentile ranking from 0 to 100, comparing the carrier against peers with similar numbers of inspections. A score of 80 means the carrier performs worse than 80% of comparable carriers in that category. Violations are weighted by severity — a brake failure carries more weight than a reflector issue — and by recency, with newer violations weighted more heavily than older ones. Only the most recent 24 months of data are used. Carriers must have a minimum number of inspections to receive a score in each BASIC.

Intervention Thresholds

The FMCSA sets intervention thresholds that trigger enforcement actions. For most BASICs, the threshold is the 65th percentile. For Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator, it is the 65th percentile for general carriers but can be lower for passenger and hazmat carriers. When a carrier exceeds a threshold, it may receive a warning letter, be placed on an investigation list, or face a compliance review. Multiple elevated BASICs significantly increase the likelihood of an intervention.

Checking Your BASICs

Carriers can view their own detailed BASICs data through the FMCSA's SMS website. The public can see whether a carrier has any BASICs above intervention thresholds. On Carrier Lookup, you can review a carrier's inspection and violation history to understand the underlying data driving their scores. Tracking your scores monthly and addressing violations promptly is key to improving your CSA scores.

Review Carrier Safety Data

Search inspection records, violations, and crash data that drive BASICs scores for any carrier.

Search Carriers Go Unlimited