The seven BASICs
- Unsafe Driving
- Crash Indicator
- Hours-of-Service Compliance
- Vehicle Maintenance
- Controlled Substances/Alcohol
- Hazardous Materials Compliance
- Driver Fitness
Percentiles and what is public
Each BASIC is a percentile from 0 to 100, where higher is worse. Carriers above the intervention threshold can get warning letters, investigations or compliance reviews. Since the FAST Act in 2015, most BASIC percentiles and alerts for property carriers are hidden from the public. Carriers can see their own results by logging in to the FMCSA portal.
MyDotCheck shows your public inspection results, including vehicle and driver out-of-service rates against the national average, which drive several BASICs.
How to lower CSA scores
- Fix vehicle maintenance problems before they show up at roadside: pre-trip inspections and documented repairs
- Audit hours-of-service logs and form-and-manner errors in your ELD data
- Keep driver files current, especially medical certificates and license status
- Challenge inaccurate inspections or crashes through DataQs
- Clean inspections (no violations) also help, because scores are relative to exposure
MyDotCheck is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of the U.S. Department of Transportation or FMCSA. Data comes from public FMCSA datasets and may lag official records by a day or more. Government filings can be made directly with FMCSA at no charge.