How to Check a Trucking Company's Safety Record
Start with the truck's USDOT number, which identifies the motor carrier in FMCSA's public databases. FMCSA's SAFER system gives company safety data, and its Safety Measurement System shows inspection-based performance data. Neither is a full picture: a missing or poor record is a lead for investigation, not proof of fault.
What do you need to look a carrier up?
The carrier's USDOT number or legal name. The number is normally displayed on the truck, and it also appears on the police report, the bill of lading and the carrier's paperwork. If the truck was leased from an owner-operator, the number on the truck is normally the carrier it was operating under.
Which federal records are public?
Data and display rules change, so check each FMCSA site for what it currently shows for the carrier you are looking up.
- SAFER (Safety and Fitness Electronic Records): FMCSA says it offers company safety data and related services to the public, including a Company Snapshot, and a search of out-of-service orders.
- Licensing & Insurance (L&I): FMCSA's public site for operating authority and insurance filing records, linked from SAFER.
- Safety Measurement System (SMS): FMCSA performance data organised into seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs).
What do FMCSA safety ratings mean?
A safety rating comes from an FMCSA review of a carrier's safety management controls. Under 49 CFR 385.3, a Satisfactory rating means the carrier has adequate safety management controls in place. Conditional means it does not, and the gaps could lead to the problems listed in 49 CFR 385.5. Unsatisfactory means it does not, and those problems have already occurred. A carrier that has never been reviewed is unrated.
A carrier rated Unsatisfactory is prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle once the time limits in 49 CFR 385.13 run out. An unrated carrier has simply not been assigned a rating, so the absence of a poor rating does not show that a carrier is safe.
What are the limits of SMS data?
FMCSA warns that readers should not draw conclusions about a carrier's overall safety condition from SMS data, and that its prioritisation symbols are not a federal safety rating. FMCSA also states that a carrier without an Unsatisfactory rating or a discontinue-operations order is authorized to operate.
In a claim, public records are a starting point. A lawyer can request the carrier's driver qualification files, maintenance records, hours-of-service records and prior crash reports through a preservation letter and discovery, which show far more than the public databases.
Frequently asked questions
What is a USDOT number?
An identification number issued by FMCSA to a motor carrier. It lets you find the carrier's registration, inspection and crash information in FMCSA's public systems.
Can I see a trucking company's safety rating online?
FMCSA publishes safety ratings for carriers that have been rated, through its SAFER system. A carrier that has not been reviewed is unrated, so you may see no rating at all.
What is the difference between Conditional and Unsatisfactory?
Under 49 CFR 385.3, both mean the carrier lacks adequate safety management controls. For Conditional, the gaps could lead to the problems listed in 49 CFR 385.5. For Unsatisfactory, those problems have already occurred.
Does a good safety record mean the trucking company was not at fault?
No. Public records are only a summary, and fault in your crash depends on what happened that day and the evidence, such as logs, black box data and maintenance records.
Does a poor safety record prove the trucking company is liable?
No, but it can point to patterns, such as repeated maintenance or hours-of-service violations, that support a negligence or negligent hiring claim when linked to the cause of your crash.
Sources
- 49 CFR 385.3 – Definitions (safety ratings)
- 49 CFR 385.5 – Safety fitness standard
- 49 CFR 385.13 – Unsatisfactory rated motor carriers
- FMCSA SAFER
- FMCSA Safety Measurement System
Related truck accident guides
- Truck Accident Liability
- Negligent Hiring and Training by Trucking Companies
- Poor Truck Maintenance and Accident Liability
- Owner-Operator Truck Accidents
- Spoliation (Evidence Preservation) Letters After a Truck Accident
More in Truck Accident Liability
- Truck Driver Hours-of-Service Violations
- Fatigued Truck Driver Accidents
- Drunk or Drugged Truck Driver Accidents
- Negligent Hiring and Training by Trucking Companies
- Cargo Loading Company Liability
- Freight Broker Liability in Truck Accidents
- Poor Truck Maintenance and Accident Liability
- Owner-Operator Truck Accidents
- Truck Black Box and ELD Data