Do inspections that find no violations count in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)?
Yes. All roadside safety inspection findings count in the SMS, regardless of whether or not the safety inspection report contains violations. Roughly one-third of the 3.5 million inspections that are uploaded to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) database each year have zero violations. Safety inspections without regulatory violations serve to improve a motor carrier’s evaluation in the SMS. Carriers and drivers should be aware that not every law enforcement stop is a safety inspection; law enforcement may stop a vehicle to conduct a pre-inspection screening to determine if a vehicle or driver warrants closer examination. A pre-inspection screening may take many forms and may include, but not necessarily be limited to, a cursory check of the vehicle. These cursory checks are commonly confused with a complete safety inspection. If a law enforcement officer conducts only a pre-inspection screening, then a safety inspection report will not be generated. If a driver
Related Questions
- How are the Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores calculated? How often will it be updated and how far back do violations count?
- Why does the Safety Measurement System (SMS) hold carriers responsible for drivers errors, such as speeding?
- How are the Safety Measurement System (SMS) percentile ranks calculated?
