Abbreviation: SMS
Safety Measurement System
FMCSA's database that calculates carrier BASIC percentile scores using roadside inspection violations and crash data, and makes results available to law enforcement and the public.
SMS is the underlying scoring engine of the CSA program. It updates monthly as inspection and crash data is submitted by state agencies. Carrier scores are shown as percentile rankings within peer groups — a higher percentile means worse performance relative to peers. Some BASIC scores are publicly visible at ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms; others (like Crash Indicator) are restricted to law enforcement.
How SMS calculates carrier BASIC percentile scores
SMS groups carriers into peer groups based on similar inspection activity levels. Within each peer group, each carrier's time-weighted and severity-weighted violation count produces a raw score. This score is converted to a percentile — 0 is best (fewer violations than peers), 100 is worst. Scores update monthly as states submit new inspection and crash data. The calculation window is 24 months, so violations age out over time even without challenges.
Responding to elevated BASIC scores
Elevated BASIC scores can trigger FMCSA interventions: warning letters, targeted roadside inspections, off-site investigations, and compliance reviews. Carriers should check their SMS data at ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms monthly to identify problem areas. DataQs challenges can remove inaccurate violations from the underlying MCMIS data. For legitimate violations, operational improvements — targeted driver training, maintenance practices, pre-trip inspection quality — address the root causes over time. Allow for the 24-month aging window to gradually reduce old violations' impact.
Last updated: May 29, 2026
When this definition matters
This term usually matters when a driver, owner-operator, or small carrier is deciding whether a federal rule applies, preparing a compliance file, or checking a state CDL step. Use this definition as a starting point, then confirm the controlling requirement in the official source listed below before making a licensing, hiring, dispatch, or recordkeeping decision.
The related terms above are included because they often appear in the same compliance workflow. Reviewing them together can prevent common mix-ups, such as treating a state licensing step as a federal carrier obligation or confusing a driver record with a separate employer record.