• The Compliance, Safety, Accountability Assessment is an initiative launched in December 2010 by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Administration (FMCSA) to improve the safety of large trucks by reducing road accidents, injuries, and deaths. The score is calculated using the Safety Measurement System (SMS) based on surveys and road performance. SMS evaluates data from seven areas called ESSENTIAL (behavior analysis and safety enhancement categories): unsafe driving, work hours compliance, driver suitability, controlled substances/alcohol, vehicle maintenance, hazardous materials compliance, and accident indicator. SMS ranks carriers based on their BASE. The scores help the FMCSA identify high-risk carriers for intervention.