Your FMCSA Safety Insights in Dash provides an in-depth look into your CSA data. Navigate to your dashboard by selecting FMCSA Safety under Insights in the left nav menu.
The data found here is pulled directly from the CSA website and goes back up to 2 years.
If you’re seeing elevated risk scores in your FMCSA Safety Insights dashboard, don’t worry — you’re not alone. Here’s how to make sense of your data and take action before small issues become big headaches.
Know Where You Stand
Start with the Risk Profile and BASIC Scores:
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Look for any BASIC near or above the intervention threshold for the BASIC category (65% for some, 80% for others) that means you're in the higher-risk population in your peer group.
***To see intervention thresholds in Dash, you'll need to be on the Professional tier or higher***
- Review your OOS (Out-of-Service) rates. High OOS rates can be a signal that an audit is imminent.
Drill Into What’s Driving Risk
Inside Dash, click into any BASIC card to explore:
- Violation types: Are brake lights, HOS logs, or expired med cards showing up frequently?
- Time weighting: More recent violations impact your scores more. A single recent violation could be inflating your percentile.
- Severity weighting: Violations with a high severity weighting or marked as out-of-service are high-impact.
Tackle Issues Strategically
Here’s how high-performing carriers stay compliant:
| Issue Type | Best Practice Action |
|---|---|
| Recurring violations (e.g., HOS logs, brakes) | Conduct focused retraining or refresher briefings |
| Vehicle OOS issues | Increase pre-trip inspection rigor or adjust maintenance intervals |
| High driver OOS rate |
|
| Crash alerts | Implement post-crash reviews and defensive driving refreshers |
| Hazmat violations | Re-certify hazmat drivers & review packaging/labeling workflows |
Use Peer Benchmarks to Your Advantage
Check out the Peer Comparison views to:
- Confirm whether an issue is unique to you or industrywide
- Prioritize BASICs where you're above average risk
- Monitor percentile improvements over time as you resolve violations
- Present your safety performance in a way that may strengthen insurance discussions
Prepare for FMCSA Audits
If FMCSA flags your carrier, they may launch a Compliance Review (CR) or a Safety Audit. Here’s what you can do proactively:
- Maintain accurate driver qualification files (DQFs)
- Keep up-to-date MCS-150 forms
- Organize inspection reports and maintenance logs
- Respond quickly using the DataQs process if you believe violations are in error
Learn More
Need help interpreting something on your dashboard?
Contact your Foley representative— we’re here to help you make the most of FMCSA Safety Insights.
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