Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) | Fleet Management
A U.S. Department of Transportation program designed to help ensure that over-the-road and other heavy truck drivers adhere to various federal safety requirements and laws.
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) is a safety compliance and enforcement program developed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Launched in December 2010, CSA aims to enhance road safety by holding commercial motor vehicle (CMV) carriers and drivers accountable for adhering to federal safety regulations. The program’s primary goal is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses on U.S. roadways.[1][2][3]
The CSA program comprises three core components: the Safety Measurement System (SMS), interventions, and the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD). The SMS collects and analyzes data from roadside inspections, crash reports, and investigations over a two-year period to identify carriers with safety performance issues. This data is categorized into seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs): Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials Compliance, and Crash Indicator.[4][5]
Based on SMS findings, FMCSA employs various interventions to address safety concerns, ranging from warning letters to comprehensive on-site investigations. The SFD component assesses a carrier’s overall safety fitness and determines whether they are fit to operate. Through these measures, CSA enables FMCSA and state partners to proactively identify and mitigate safety risks, ensuring that carriers maintain compliance with federal regulations and contribute to safer roadways.[6][7][8]
Sources
- [1]What is CSA—and how does it affect me? – Transportation
- [2]CARRIER SAFETY MEASUREMENT SYSTEM (CSMS) METHODOLOGY,
- [3]Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- [4]Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) – Transportation
- [5]Truck driver
- [6]3.2 Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Program – csa.fmcsa.dot.gov
- [7]Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) – Transportation
- [8]The Motor Carrier Safety Planner – Transportation