CSA intervention thresholds: what an SMS alert means

The thresholds by BASIC and carrier type

Table 2–2 of FMCSA's SMS Methodology gives the following thresholds. Each row lists passenger carrier, hazardous materials (HM), and general carrier thresholds, in that order (p. 2-8). These percentages are policy thresholds, not a calculated position for your carrier.

• Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, and Hours-of-Service Compliance: passenger 50%; HM 60%; general 65%.
• Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, and Driver Fitness: passenger 65%; HM 75%; general 80%.
• Hazardous Materials Compliance: passenger 80%; HM 80%; general 80%.

Which carrier type applies

The general thresholds apply to most carriers, except those meeting the passenger or HM definitions. Truck count alone does not select the column: the methodology defines the carrier types using authority, registration, vehicle, and inspection information (pp. 2-8–2-9).

For the HM thresholds, Table 2–4 requires either a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit or all three inspection conditions: at least two HM placardable vehicle inspections in 24 months, at least one in 12 months, and at least 5% of vehicle inspections being HM placardable. Table 2–3 gives the passenger criteria (p. 2-9).

What an alert means

An alert is the SMS symbol for BASIC prioritization. It can come from an FMCSA percentile at or above the applicable threshold, subject to the BASIC's data sufficiency rules, or from one or more Acute or Critical Violations found during an investigation within the past 12 months (pp. 2-7–2-8).

The methodology says a carrier with the symbol "may be prioritized for interventions such as warning letters and investigations, or may be subject to further monitoring." (p. 2-8). That is the scope of the statement; it does not specify which action a particular carrier receives.

Why the public page does not show the complete result

For property carriers, relative percentiles and alerts are withheld from the public SMS display. Public measures are available for Unsafe Driving, HOS Compliance, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol and Vehicle Maintenance; Crash Indicator and HM Compliance results are not public. Carriers can sign in through their own FMCSA Portal account to view complete SMS results (SMS Methodology p. 1-2, note 6; FMCSA FAST Act guidance).

You can see your carrier's own SMS data through your FMCSA Portal account. The site's Terms also direct you to verify figures there. Use your own account; RoadsideProof never asks for your FMCSA Portal, DataQs, or Login.gov credentials.

How to read RoadsideProof's estimate

This is our estimate from public FMCSA data, not an official FMCSA percentile.

Read an estimated position with its interval and snapshot date. An observed maximum error belongs to a specific BASIC, snapshot, validation sample, and method version; it does not bound errors for all carriers. Measure comparisons and percentile estimates require separate validation. If the interval crosses the intervention threshold, the estimate cannot put the carrier firmly on one side of the line.

Unsafe Driving is not included in the free lookup. We do not offer its measure or estimated position; its internal numerator calculation is not a full measure.

Sources

FMCSA, Safety Measurement System (SMS) Methodology, Version 3.21, methodology revised May 2026, document revised June 2026: public display, p. 1-2 note 6; prioritization and thresholds, pp. 2-7–2-9. Page numbers are the document's own. RoadsideProof estimate, interval, and account boundaries: the site's How it works and Terms pages.