The trucking world is filled with confusing things. The regulations are many and the letters – FMCSA, CSA, SMS, DOT – can cause real befuddlement. Three letters in particular, SMS, are extremely important. They stand for Safety Measurement System. We’ll explain what the trucking SMS is all about by answering a few common questions about it.
Safety
We don’t have to tell you that trucking businesses face a lot of risks. The roads aren’t always the safest place, and that’s why it’s so important to take steps to emphasize and improve safety at your truck business. While this is beneficial because it will lessen the chance of your drivers and employees getting hurt, safety can also help you avoid truck insurance claims. In turn, that can help your truck insurance rates.
The following articles give suggestions and tips for improving different areas of safety at your business. Take some time to check out the various topics that we explore in the articles. We’ll explain the dangers of distracted driving, the importance of pre-trip vehicle inspections and preventive maintenance, why you should always wear a seatbelt, and more. Safety is an ongoing process, so it’s important to always be looking for ways to make your business a little safer. The following articles might help you think of ways to do that.
FMCSA Military Driver Programs
If you’re a military personnel and you’re considering moving into a civilian career, don’t forget to consider trucking. Transportation can be a great career path. There’s always a need for experienced commercial truck drivers, and the FMCSA wants to fill the jobs with CMV drivers who have experience, who are safe drivers, and who are trustworthy. (That goes along with their goal of increasing CMV safety and lowering the number of crashes involving CMVS.) That’s why the FMCSA has various programs that make it easier for military personnel to get CDLs – not to mention quicker and cheaper. We’ll explain how you can find out if you’re eligible and go over the different FMCSA Military Driver programs.
Why didn’t my MCS-150 update show up in SMS?
The trucking world is full of paperwork and regulations. The MCS-150 is something that motor carriers need to be aware of and keep up with. (There are a lot of forms and such you have to keep up with, admittedly.) But even when you are on top of everything, you might wonder why the carefully reviewed update to your MCS-150 hasn’t shown up in the SMS. We’ll go over a few things about updating that, including when to update the MCS-150 and why you might not see the changes right away.
What and where are the Safety Measurement System severity tables?
Being a motor carrier is a lot of paying attention to regulations and inspections. You might be wondering what violation severity weight is and where one could find the severity tables for the SMS. Seems like that would be something helpful to know about. Well, it has to do with BASICs and such. Here is what you need to know.
Read moreWhat and where are the Safety Measurement System severity tables?
7 things you need to know about Compliance, Safety, Accountability
The CSA, or Compliance, Safety, Accountability, is a big deal in the trucking world. It’s all about safety and prioritizing which carriers need intervention. There’s a lot to learn about the CSA. It’s helpful to have an understanding of what the CSA does and what you should expect. Here are a few things you should know about the CSA.
Read more7 things you need to know about Compliance, Safety, Accountability
CVSA International Roadcheck continues
The CVSA had postponed their International Roadcheck because of the pandemic. However, they have rescheduled the International Roadcheck, and it’s going on now. It started on Sept. 9th and will continue through Sept. 11th. (Attention has been able to shift back to inspecting drivers and vehicles now that safety standards and Out of Service criteria.)
How the CSA website can be helpful for your business
Trucking is complicated. There are a lot of regulations you have to follow, and there’s a lot of safety-related data about your business that you need to keep track of. The FMCSA takes safety very seriously, so as a trucking business you need to be sure you’re playing by the rules. One resource that can help is the CSA website (Compliance, Safety, Accountability). What exactly can you find on the CSA website? We’ll explain eight things the CSA website can help you with.
Read moreHow the CSA website can be helpful for your business
Why can a carrier with a satisfactory rating exceed an intervention threshold?
If you’re part of the trucking world, there are a lot of considerations concerning regulations to be aware of. Some of the different rankings and scores can get complicated, especially when you’re trying to figure out how all of these things relate to each other. It can be extremely difficult to make sense of the different terms used to describe your business, especially if they seem to contradict each other. For example – how can a carrier that earned a “satisfactory rating” still exceed an intervention threshold in the BASICs? We’ll explain.
Read moreWhy can a carrier with a satisfactory rating exceed an intervention threshold?
What’s a percentile in the SMS?
If you’re in the trucking world, there are a lot of terms and numbers used by the SMS (Safety Measurement System) when it comes to talking about a carrier. Especially when it comes to safety records. Interpreting these things can be a struggle. For example, one major component of these safety scores is the percentiles. What exactly is a percentile and what does it mean? Understanding the BASICs means being able to make sense of these numbers. We’ll go over what a “percentile” is and what it tells you.
Why are bridge strikes and GPS connected?
Truck drivers are on the roads a lot, of course, and they use GPS (as we all do) to get around. There are also stories about trucks hitting bridges if they don’t have enough clearance. So, how are the two related? At first glance, they might not seem to be connected. However, there could be a connection. Here’s how that works and some tips for avoiding bridge strikes.
