Methodology
How the SaferGrade score is computed
The SaferGrade score is a records-based composite of public FMCSA data: it summarizes what the public record shows about a carrier's registration, operating authority, insurance filings, 24-month roadside inspection results, and 24-month recorded crashes, relative to national baselines.
It is observational only. It is not a safety rating, not a prediction, and not a safety-fitness determination. FMCSA itself cautions that SMS data alone cannot be used to draw conclusions about a carrier's safety fitness; the only authoritative safety-fitness determination is the FMCSA safety rating issued after a compliance review, which we display separately when one exists. SaferGrade never describes a carrier as "safe" or "unsafe," and the score should not be read that way.
Components and weights
Seven components, 100 points total. A component only enters the score when the underlying records exist; unknown components are excluded and the score is renormalized over the remaining weight, so a carrier is never penalized for records our sources don't carry.
| Component | Weight | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| USDOT operating status | 20 | Active registration earns 20 points, pending 8, inactive 0. Taken from the FMCSA company census; always available. |
| Operating authority (docket) | 10 | Active docket status (census) or an active MOTUS authority record earns 10 points; pending 5; inactive 0. A revocation/suspension order with no active authority zeroes the component. Carriers with no MC/FF docket on record (e.g. private or exempt operations) are not evaluated on this component. |
| Insurance filing on record | 10 | An active, uncancelled insurance filing earns 10 points; only cancelled or expired filings earns 0. Evaluated only when MOTUS insurance records exist for the docket — the MOTUS feed is a daily delta, so coverage grows over time. |
| Driver out-of-service rate | 15 | 24-month driver OOS rate versus the ~5.5% national baseline. Full points at or below the baseline, tapering to zero at 2.5× the baseline. Evaluated only when at least one driver inspection is recorded. |
| Vehicle out-of-service rate | 15 | 24-month vehicle OOS rate versus the ~20.7% national baseline. Full points at or below the baseline, tapering to zero at 2.5× the baseline. Evaluated only when at least one vehicle inspection is recorded. |
| Recorded crashes per power unit | 20 | 24-month recorded crashes divided by self-reported power units, versus a fleet-wide baseline of ~0.003 crashes per power unit derived from this dataset. Full points at or below the baseline, tapering to zero at 8×. Absence of a crash record counts as zero recorded crashes. Evaluated only when at least one power unit is reported; implausible self-reported fleet sizes are capped. |
| Registration data recency (MCS-150) | 10 | Age of the most recent MCS-150 mileage year on file: current or one year old earns 10 points, two years 7, three to four years 4, five or more 0. FMCSA requires biennial updates. Evaluated only when a usable year is on file. |
Smoothing, score, and grade
Small samples are shrunk toward the baseline before comparison (five pseudo-inspections for OOS rates, ten pseudo-power-units for crash exposure), so a single inspection or a one-truck fleet can't swing a component to either extreme. The raw, unsmoothed rates are always displayed alongside.
score = round(100 × points earned / points available) · grade: A ≥ 90 · B ≥ 80 · C ≥ 70 · D ≥ 60 · F < 60
Each score carries a coverage level — high, medium, or low — based on how much of the 100-point weight was evaluable for that carrier. Scores are recomputed after each data refresh; composites are computed for active and pending registrations.
Known limitations
- SMS inspection and crash inputs cover a rolling 24-month window, refresh monthly, and are state-reported; crashes are recorded regardless of fault or preventability.
- Fleet size, mileage, and other MCS-150 fields are self-reported by carriers and not verified by FMCSA; we cap implausible values but cannot correct them.
- SMS out-of-service totals count OOS violations, so a single inspection can contribute more than one; we cap the rate at one per inspection, and rates computed this way can still run above inspection-based national averages.
- MOTUS authority and insurance records are ingested from daily difference files, so they only cover dockets changed since our ingestion began; missing records are treated as unknown, not negative.
- Exposure differs across operations: carriers with more roadside exposure accumulate more inspections and crash records than otherwise similar carriers.
- The score reflects records as of the vintage below; FMCSA source systems may have newer information.
Source: FMCSA MCMIS census + SMS + MOTUS (data.transportation.gov), vintage 2026-07-23
Full scoring code is deterministic and versioned; the same inputs always produce the same score. Download the scored dataset (CC0).