BASIC categories
BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) are the seven categories FMCSA uses to score motor carrier safety performance in the CSA program.
The seven BASICs are: Unsafe Driving, Hours of Service Compliance, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials Compliance, and Crash Indicator.
Five BASICs are publicly displayed on FMCSA SMS (Unsafe Driving, HOS, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances, Vehicle Maintenance). Hazmat Compliance is public for hazmat-authorized carriers. Crash Indicator has not been publicly displayed since 2015 following industry pushback on attribution methodology.
Why this matters for freight brokers
The two BASICs that most matter for broker negligent-hiring exposure are Unsafe Driving and Hours of Service. Alert status in either is a documented red flag the broker must explain if they book anyway.
Related terms
- CSA scores — CSA scores are the percentile-ranked performance measures FMCSA publishes for motor carriers across seven behavioral categories called BASICs, drawn from roadside inspection and crash data.
- Alert status (CSA) — Alert status is the FMCSA SMS flag indicating a carrier's percentile score in a BASIC category exceeds the threshold for that carrier's freight class (65th percentile for general property, 60th for hazmat and passenger).
- SMS (Safety Measurement System) — SMS is the FMCSA public-facing system that displays CSA BASIC percentile scores and alert status for motor carriers.
Sources
Build the audit trail before you need it.
VettedHaul captures a signed, timestamped vetting record for every carrier you book. Founding-customer pricing locks in at $99/mo.
Get early access