If you are about to attend CDL school, or you have just graduated from CDL school and are preparing to embark upon your transportation industry career, achieving a low CSA score (which is what you strive for) should be paramount in your good standing as a commercial driver.
CSA is FMCSA’s data-driven safety compliance and enforcement program designed to build a nationwide commitment to safety and prevent commercial motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The CSA program maintains data on motor carriers to measure the safety fitness of motor carriers. The CSA program also maintains a score on commercial drivers.
Your CSA score is determined by FMCSA data that is organized into seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs).
- Hours of Service Compliance
- Driver Fitness
- Unsafe Driving
- Controlled Substances/Alcohol
- Vehicle Maintenance
- Crash Indicator (not public)
- Hazardous Materials Compliance (not public)
Visit the following links to ensure you understand the BASICs of your CSA score and to locate other driver resources related to CSA.
https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/CSA_GRS_Visor_S.pdf
https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/YourRole/Drivers
https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/HelpCenter/Resources.aspx?locationid=58