The FMCSA portal is maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and offers motor carriers and other involved parties access to a variety of forms of information. If you are a carrier, ship freight, carry passengers, or do other commerce on the roadways, then you can use the FMCSA Portal to check your official safety records and other details the agency maintains.
Tips
Getting the right truck insurance for your business can feel like a monumental task. Maybe you’re not quite sure where to start. This section of our blog has articles that feature tips for buying truck insurance and tips for understanding various coverages. Insurance might seem overly complicated and impossible, but we strive to make insurance as easy as possible. That’s why these articles break down various topics into easy-to-understand tips and explanations.
The “Tips” section also includes articles that focus on ways to improve safety at your business. Though you face many risks as a trucking business, there are things you can do to minimize those risks and lessen the chance of something bad happening. The articles take various topics and create manageable steps that you can follow to boost safety at your business. The safer your business is, the fewer claims you may have. And that can help your insurance rates.
So, take some time to check out the topics that appeal to you.
How can a carrier improve in the HOS (Hours of Service) Compliance BASIC?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) maintains a program called Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) that ranks drivers in seven categories. One of these is Hours of Service compliance.
How can I improve my Vehicle Maintenance BASIC?
Proper vehicle maintenance is one of seven factors that inspectors from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) program evaluate to assign scores for the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) initiative.
Why did my CSA percentile increase?
To help identify drivers for intervention, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) uses a ranking system managed by its Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) program. It can be distressing as a driver to see your percentile rank increase from one month to the next, especially if you don’t understand the reason for it.
What is the Driver Fitness BASIC?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) maintains strict safety requirements for motor carriers and drivers. The Driver Fitness Compliance Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) is one of seven overall categories used to compare and rank carriers based on safety.
How can I change from one type of truck operating authority to another?
If you find that you need to choose a truck operating authority after being exempt in the past, or you need to change from one type of operating authority to another, you can do so using the process outlined below. A thorough understanding of how operating authorities work and what they require can help you save time and money during the process.
How to get an MC Number/Operating Authority
A company that is interested in engaging in certain types of transportation activities must have an MC Number, which is also known as operating authority. Specifically, companies that (a) transport passengers via interstate commerce and that (b) transport federally regulated commodities that are owned by others or coordinate the transportation of those commodities, are required to have operating authority.
What do I do if I get a warning letter from the FMCSA?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for making sure that commercial trucks and drivers are safe enough to be on America’s highways. To protect the public, the FMCSA completes regular inspections of equipment, driver log books, records of violations, and more. If your business is found to have a violation, the FMCSA will then notify the motor carrier of violations by mail in the form of a warning letter.
What hazardous materials require a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforces a program known as Hazardous Materials Safety Permit (HMSP). The purpose is to increase safety for the driving public and commercial truck drivers.