The motor carrier safety rating is an evaluation given to an interstate commercial motor carrier (a company which employs truck or bus drivers) by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
A safety rating is determined by a compliance review, an on-site examination of motor carrier operations, such as drivers’ hours of service, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, commercial drivers license requirements, financial responsibility, accidents, hazardous materials, and other safety and transportation records to determine whether a motor carrier meets the safety fitness standard. A compliance review may be conducted in response to a request to change a safety rating, to investigate potential violations of safety regulations by motor carriers, or to investigate complaints, or other evidence of safety violations. The compliance review may result in the initiation of an enforcement action.
One of three safety ratings will be issued following a compliance review:
Satisfactory – A Satisfactory rating means means that a motor carrier has in place and functioning adequate safety management controls to meet the safety fitness standard prescribed in §385.5 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). Safety management controls are adequate if they are appropriate for the size and type of operation of the particular motor carrier.
Conditional – This rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard found in §385.5 of the FMCSR.
Unsatisfactory – An Unsatisfactory rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard which has resulted in occurrences listed in §385.5 (a) through (k)of the FMCSR.
Generally, a motor carrier rated unsatisfactory is prohibited from operating a CMV. If a proposed unsatisfactory safety rating becomes final, the FMCSA will issue an order placing its interstate operations out of service. Any motor carrier that operates CMVs in violation of this section will be subject to the penalty provisions listed in 49 U.S.C. 521(b).
Records requests
A carrier’s current safety rating can be found on http://www.safersys.org. The Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System offers company safety data to industry and the public over the internet. Data from the SAFER website is pulled from the Motor Carrier Management Information System, a database administered by the FMCSA.
MCMIS contains information on the safety fitness of commercial motor carriers and hazardous material (HM) shippers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
A number of reports are available from the MCMIS. Anyone may request these reports for a fee, however, a “Company Snapshot” is available to the public, free of charge. This information includes:
- Carrier Legal Name/Doing Business As (DBA) Name
- Complete Address (Physical/Mailing)
- US Department of Transportation (DOT) Number
- Carrier Operation (e.g. Private/For Hire)
- Cargo(s) Carried
- Hazardous Material(s) Carried
- Fleet Size
- Number of Drivers
- Total Crashes
- Number of Fatalities/Injuries/Disabled Vehicles
- Total Inspections
- Number of Violations for Drivers/Vehicles
- Safety Rating
External links
- Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (SAFER)
- Motor Carrier Information System Catalog (MCMIS)
References
- ^ “SAFER Help”. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
This article incorporates text from Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (SAFER), U.S. Department of Transportation, a public domain work of the United States Government.
Trucking industry in the United States
Regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Regulations
Commercial driver’s license · Hours of service · Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula · Electronic on-board recorder · Motor carrier safety rating · Motor Carrier Act of 1980
Manufacturers
Trucks / Autocar · Freightliner · International · Kenworth · Mack · Peterbilt · Sterling · Volvo · Western Star · White
Engines / Caterpillar · Cummins · Detroit Diesel · Mercedes-Benz · Navistar
Motor Carriers
Truckload carriers / Covenant · England · J.B. Hunt · PAM Transport · Schneider · Swift · USA Truck · Werner
LTL and parcel carriers / ABF · Con-way · FedEx · UPS · Yellow
Moving companies / Allied · Atlas · Bekins · Global · Mayflower · North American · United
Truck Stops
Bosselman · Flying J · Iowa 80 · Petro · Pilot · Road Ranger · TravelCenters
People
Reginald Denny · Jimmy Hoffa · Fred Smith · John B. Hunt · Kelly Reno · Iyman Faris
Organizations
Teamsters Union · Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association · American Trucking Associations · SmartWay Transport Partnership
Glossary
List of trucking industry terms in the United States
Popular Culture
Film / Black Dog · Convoy · Duel · F.I.S.T. · The Gang’s All Here · Smokey and the Bandit (series) · They Drive by Night · White Line Fever
Television / B.J. and the Bear · Ice Road Truckers · Movin’ On · Trick My Truck
Music / Convoy · Six Days on the Road · Teddy Bear
Other / Open Road · The Rolling Memorial
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Categories: Commercial item transport and distribution | Trucking industry in the United States | Car safetyHidden category: Wikipedia articles incorporating text from public domain works of the United States Government