As I look for information on various carriers I stumbled on this site which seems to show CSA data. Is this useful to measure good companies or just one more data point that can be manipulated? site Safety Measurement System - Overview (U.S. DOT# 511412)
If I was looking for a trucking job, that is one of the first thing I would check. Any company with an OOS rate higher than the national average would be a red flag for me.
This ^ As a rule the worse the score then the worse the quality of equipment or drivers. Sometimes both. If you got bad drivers and/or bad equipment thats usually a sign that they are going to screw with you. Afterall if they tolerate #### equipment and piss poor drivers. You gotta ask why. And it usually boils down to "cheap"
Yes. I always look into company snap shot when looking for a carrier to work for. Like stated above if they have a OOS % very high. Or if the % is hovering at or just below the national average it’s a BZZT for me jack!
Hello! The SMS system is absolutely a legit and valuable resource both for motor carriers and drivers. As mentioned above the OOS rate is a very good indicator of a company's safety culture. Keep in mind the data represented is within a 24-month rolling period and sometimes does not accurately indicate the overall safety stance; for example, a carrier may only have 2 CVSA level I, II, or V inspections in the past 24 months; if 1of the 2 inspections is out-of-service they would have a 50% OOS rate. DOTs utilize a sampling chart based on carrier size to calculate the OOS rate when conducting investigations and they will only "look" at the last 12 months. In that same scenario 1 of 2, when one inspection drops-off it could mean 100% OOS or 100% clean depending on which inspection is dropping off. So, keep in mind the 24-month OOS rate CAN be slightly deceptive in a small inspection accumulation scenario. Also: another tool within the SMS website allows you to download an EXCEL file per BASIC which indicate the roadside inspections and violation data in a public view (it hides crashes and driver info). You can also get the 24-month OOS rate info by google search "FMCSA SAFER" and the SAFER portal will have the same OOS info. Hope this helps! Be safe out there!
