The seven categories are unsafe driving, crash indicator, hours of service compliance, vehicle maintenance, controlled substances and alcohol, hazardous materials compliance, and driver fitness. Violations are weighted by severity and recency over a twenty-four month period.
Carriers receive percentile rankings within peer groups of similar size.
Alternative Names:
Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, SMS Scores
Why it Matters?
Plaintiff counsel present these scores as an objective safety grade, which is why admissibility is contested in nearly every serious trucking case. The defense arguments are substantive rather than technical: percentile rankings compare only within peer groups so a high percentile does not indicate absolute danger, the crash indicator counts crashes without regard to fault, and FMCSA itself has removed public display of some categories pending methodology review.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What are the seven BASIC categories?
What is the strongest objection to BASIC scores?
