How to Check Your CSA Score

In November 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) Program. Designed to remind carriers and drivers of their responsibility to share the road safely, the FMCSA’s program assigns each carrier a score that’s updated monthly so that they can keep track of how well they’re doing when it comes to the essential task of maintaining safe roadways. Do you know how to check your CSA score?

Checking Your CSA Score

There are clear benefits to maintaining a good CSA score. Likewise, earning a bad CSA score can bring serious problems. That makes keeping a watchful eye on your score good business. Fortunately, it’s easy to do.

Accessing Your CSA Score

Learning how to check your CSA score is simple. Start the process by visiting the program’s website at csa.fmcsa.dot.gov. Just scroll down to find the box labeled “Check Motor Carrier Safety and Performance Data.” Then, log in by typing your name, your U.S. DOT number, or your MC number. You’ll be asked for a pin. If you don’t already have one, use your U.S. DOT number or MC number to register for one. Requesting a pin can take a few days, but once you have it, you’ll be able to access your CSA score whenever you choose.

Exploring How CSA Scores Work

While the actions drivers take can impact these scores, drivers don’t get CSA scores; carriers do. A carrier’s score reflects the driving and safety habits of all its drivers as a group. Scores are presented in percentiles between 0 and 100. The closer you are to 0, the better it is. Scores are calculated using set standards. Violations are assigned points, and the time that has passed since the violation also factors in. Only violations in the last 24 months are counted. Violations can fall into several categories:

• Unsafe driving
• Crash indicator
• Controlled substances and alcohol
• Vehicle maintenance
• Hours-of-service compliance
• Hazardous material compliance
• Driver fitness

Discovering the Benefits of a Good CSA Score

Why should you make an effort to maintain a good CSA score? Carriers with low CSA scores enjoy lower insurance premiums. They also tend to experience fewer audits from the Department of Transportation. Plus, a reputation for safety and reliability makes it easier to attract clients.

Understanding the Problems Triggered by a Bad CSA Score

A high CSA score can trigger serious difficulties for a carrier. In addition to higher insurance premiums, there’s the prospect of frequent audits and inspections from various law enforcement agencies. If your CSA score goes too high, you may be subjected to a compliance review or even issued an Out-of-Service Order.

How to Improve Your CSA Score

Clearly, CSA scores are important for carriers, so it makes sense to keep an eye on yours. What if your score is higher than you prefer? Use these steps to improve it:

• Embrace a safety-first culture. Encourage safe driving behaviors, discipline violations, and set up a bonus program that makes it clear your company prioritizes its CSA score.
• Hire great drivers. If you’re hiring new drivers, use a prescreening process and be ready to provide lots of training and support.
• Choose reliable electronic logging devices. Not all electronic logging devices, or ELDs, are the same. Some will lose data permanently when a driver enters a cellular dead zone. That can lead to inaccurate logs and trigger a higher CSA score due to an hours-of-service violation.
• Forbid aggressive driving. Some of the most heavily weighted violations are tied to aggressive driving. Make it clear to your team that these behaviors won’t be tolerated.

The CSA score is intended to be a tool for carriers that helps them monitor their safety performance. Keeping an eye on yours can offer reassurance that you are meeting your goals.

At BLC Transportation, we consider helping our drivers complete their routes safely to be an integral part of our success. That’s why we hire skilled drivers, pay well, provide top-of-the-line equipment, and nourish a culture of safety that naturally leads to low CSA scores. As a family-operated, driver-focused company, we’re a growing team.