SMS BASIC: SMS BASIC Percentile
FMCSA's continuously updated safety-performance percentile score across seven roadside-inspection categories.
The Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores every active motor carrier against peers on seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) — Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Hazmat Compliance, Driver Fitness, and Crash Indicator — using 24 months of roadside inspection and crash data. Unlike the formal Safety Rating, SMS percentiles update continuously and exist for nearly every active carrier.
Who publishes it
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), updated monthly.
How to read it
- Reported as a percentile (0–100) within a carrier's peer group — higher percentile means worse relative performance, the opposite of a school-grade percentile.
- Each BASIC has its own intervention threshold (65% for most categories, 80% for Vehicle Maintenance/Controlled Substances/Hazmat/Driver Fitness — lower thresholds for hazmat and passenger carriers).
- Crossing the threshold on a single BASIC triggers FMCSA monitoring; two or more is a commonly used broker red-flag rule of thumb.
Why it matters
Because most active carriers have no formal Safety Rating ("None / Not Rated"), SMS BASIC percentiles are the primary data brokers and shippers actually use for day-to-day vetting decisions — and, since Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, the timestamp of the data reviewed matters as much as the score itself.
Frequently asked questions
Is a high SMS BASIC percentile good or bad?
Bad. Unlike a school grade, a higher percentile means worse relative safety performance versus peer carriers. A carrier at the 85th percentile on Unsafe Driving is performing worse than 85% of its peer group.
How often does SMS data update?
FMCSA recalculates SMS BASIC percentiles monthly, using a rolling 24-month window of roadside inspection and crash data.
Open the live page for current data and tools.