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Review a Commercial Trucking Company DOT Safety Record
What is their safety record?
If you are in business you want your products delivered intact and on-time direct to your customer's loading dock. You want a commercial trucking company that is reliable and safe. This article will describe the simple steps needed to check the Department of Transportation (DOT) SAFER website to determine the safety record of your prospective common carrier.
- SAFER Web - Company Snapshot
Review the safety record of DOT registered commercial trucking companies.
Log on to SAFER
Log
on to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) SAFER website.
The link is provided in the adjacent box. The link takes you to the SAFER Company Snapshot page. Click on "USDOT Number", then enter the number in the "Enter Value" box. This is the fastest way to bring up the company profile.
If you don't know the DOT number click on "Name" and enter the company name in the "Enter Value" box. Just be aware there are probably a dozen or more trucking companies that share a similar name. You will need to know the city and state where the trucking company headquarters is located to select the company you are trying to review. For example, if you type in "Smith Trucking" the SAFER system will bring up several dozen names. Do you want Paul Smith Trucking in Tatum, Texas, or A.D. Smith Trucking in Corinna, Maine? Click on the company name you want to review. The SAFER system will bring up the "snapshot" of the company you selected.
Safety Inspection Record
Scroll down and review the second screen for the trucking company's safety inspection record. This lists the number of roadside inspections conducted within the past two years on the company's trucks and drivers. These inspections are conducted at random, typically by the state highway patrol, and involve vehicle, driver, and hazmat inspections.
Driver inspections involve a review of the driver's logbook to ensure it is
current and the driver is in compliance with DOT hours of operation
regulations.
Vehicle inspections focus on truck maintenance and safety.
Hazmat inspections are conducted only if the trucking company hauls hazardous
materials. Inspectors check to see that hazardous materials are being
transported according to DOT regulations.
"Out of Service" Violations
The first line in this screen indicates the number of inspections conducted in each category. The second line indicates the number of "Out of Service" violations that were detected. Out of service means there was at least one item noted during the inspection that did not comply with DOT regulations. This could be a error in the driver's logbook, or an indication that he worked more hours than permitted in a specific time frame, which is a safety hazard. A vehicle "out of service" violation could be a broken taillight, worn tires, or some other item in need of repair that could affect the safety of the vehicle. The out of service status can reflect one or more violations found in a single inspection.
The next line indicates the percentage of Out of Service violations found compared with the total number of inspections conducted on the trucking company. Obviously, the lower the number the better; a low number indicates the company is probably serious about following DOT regulations. You can compare the individual trucking company's out of service percentages with the National Averages shown in the last line of this screen. Be wary of any company that has higher percentages than the national average.
Scroll down and review the next screen which indicates the number of crashes the company has been involved with in the past 24 months.
Carrier Safety Rating
Scroll down and review the last screen, which indicates the Carrier Safety Rating. This is a measure of the trucking company's compliance with FMC safety regulations based on a DOT review of the carrier's operations. There are two types of general reviews. A Safety Review investigates management's overall knowledge of FMC safety regulations. A Compliance Review (abbreviated as CR on this screen) involves a review of the carrier's records. There are also miscellaneous reviews, such as security contract reviews or hazardous material compliance reviews that may be performed. The box next to "Type" indicates the types of reviews that have been conducted.
Review the carrier's rating. "Satisfactory" indicates there was no evidence of substantial non-compliance with safety regulations. "Conditional" indicates the carrier was out of compliance with one or more safety regulations and is on notice to correct the problems. "Unsatisfactory" indicates substantial non-compliance with safety regulations.
- Welcome to the Truck Safety Coalition
The Truck Safety Coalition is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes, providing compassionate support to truck crash survivors and families of truck crash victims, and educating the public, policy-make - U.S. Department of Transportation
The DOT website contains information on trucking safety and regulations.
Are They Insured?
Last, click on "FMCSA Licensing & Insurance site" at the bottom of the page. This will bring up a screen that lets you review the trucking company's current insurance coverage. Click on "Report" to do this. Scroll down to the "Active/Pending Insurance" box and check to see there is an initial effective date for insurance coverage. Next to the effective date is a line that says "Cancellation Date". This should be blank, meaning the insurance remains in effect. If there is a cancellation date you had better investigate. The trucking company may be operating without insurance.
Comments
Nice post, and a great way to keep truck drivers safer. This is a check and balance that should make drivers more attentive and aware.
Outstanding info on trucking. The trucking industry is essential to our economy in so many ways, and often underapprecated.
A bit out of date now that CSA has come online. The principles all remain the same but the website now differs.
http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/default.aspx
that is the website to go to now for carrier details.
www.pstc.ca
Voted up, thank you!
u are no help at all
hi everyone, CSA2010 will help get unsafe truckers and trucking companies off our nations highways
i wish some one will teach cj trucking out of laurinburg,nc something about safety i got tha icc mc number 768241 us dot number 2251945 be aware of that blue freightliner its dangerous ran me off tha road he had to be going atleast 80mph totally unsafe with tha ragdy trailer alabama dot please get this guy off tha road trailer belongs in tha junk yard
unsafe trucking compaies such as cj trucking out of nc needs to be put out of bussiness
im glad dot is working hard in texas i got a dot inspection today in temple tx tha guy went thrw me with a fine tooth comb thankb god my company puts safety 1st and money last i work for anderson trucking out of st cloud,mn thanks dot someone give me information on tha cj trucking out of laurinburg,nc please he was totally unsafe in alabama bet they got a real junky safety score too
sam that junky trucking company phone number is 910 217 5123 its on tha web adress is 20882 mcintosh road laurinburg nc i check that place out myself and its a dump too what do u expect sam i hope u turn him or her in for what they done to u 1mrj gone
need to report that unsafe fckr to federal dot sam 1mrj be gone now
What's the safety rating scale? What's good & what's bad?
.60BELOW ONSCOREINA
csa and dot inspections today yall get ready for tha 72 hour deal coming in a couple weeks
Roger henson trucking out of boliver tn.always. will b outlaws.
Roger henson trucking out of boliver tn.always. will b outlaws.
they need to shut down ozark motor lines, inc, memphis, tn. the trucking company will force a driver to work over legal hours ,if the driver refuse, the company will harass the driver and threaten drivers job. maybe CSA2010 / EOBR's will put them old bastards out of business. outlaw company, got rich in violation of federal law! they have god and country logo's on the rear of the trailers, lord help us all!
morrow trucking out of red bay,al needs put out of business for unsafe equipment and owner's illigal dispatching . and having drivers unload unsafe loads,on top of paying 1970's pay.
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been awhile since i ben here but that lawsuit i hope u give them fckers what they deserve i wonder what tha lawsuit is realy based on other than desrmantion i recvd a letter today from a lawyer about crst they dated their shjt back ten years i n never drove for them but they have harrass me for tha last 4yrs they call every week i filed out that and sent it back im suppose to be getting money for telephone harrassment ive ben currently sick for a year thios big companies call and just harrass me everyday that's a dam shame ive ben driving for seventeen years why do i wont to drive for a big company well got to go yall be back l8tr to check on yur answer femle hit me up mrj mrj mrj mrj their for yall that miss me i drop that needle on tha record mwah ladies
Southside logistics out of lawerencville,Ga. Is an unsafe company to work for. The owner does everything he can illegal. Equipment is unsafe to drive. He cheats payroll.
somebody should look into kritsack trucking out of both bound brook, n.j.& allentown, pa not good very bad
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i would like to let everyone know that i have had several seminars on CSA2010. its a great thing! most all shippers (if not all in the near future) have weighed in on the new CSA2010 rule. they are only allowing trucking companies with a good CSA2010 score (saftey rating) to move their freight. this will eliminate unsafe carriers, our highways will be safe again. no more speeding truckers! a tractor trailer speeding down the highway is nothing but a saftey hazard, endangers the lives of innocent people. there have been too many people killed on our nations highways due to unsafe trucking companies. any one trucking company that causes a fatality (just one) due to unsafe driving behavior should have their operating authority pulled. that carrier should never be allowed back on the highway.
INA ANYTHING ABOVE70 IS BAD ON A COMPANY OR COMPANIES SHIPPERS GO BY THAT SCORE TO DETERMINES WHAT COMPANY GETS THA BEST FREIGHT IF YOUR CO USING A lot OF BROKERS THAT'S WHY DOT GOT U ON THEIR LIST U GONNA GET CHECKED NO MATTER WHAT IF UR TRUCKING COMPANY HAS 80 OR ABOVE U ARE SUBJECT TO A federal AUDIT 90 AND ABOVE DOT COULD FINE U AND PUT URCOMPANY OUT OF BUSSINESSHOPE THIS IS HELPFUL 2 U INA GOD BLESS
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what is consider a bad csa score for a driver