There are a lot of details to running your own trucking company, no matter how big your fleet is. When you have to focus on deadlines, revenue, and tracking miles, sometimes the other numbers can fall by the wayside. But don’t lose track of your CSA score. The “score” is a percentile that groups your entity together with carriers that have a similar number of events and violations. Here are three reasons why you need to continuously monitor that score:
1. Your drivers’ violations carry through to your score.
If you’re a carrier, your drivers bad driving habits can create lasting problems. Not only do you have to juggle delays and potential insurance claims and lawsuits, it’s a mark on your CSA percentile. The scores are aggregated and tracked by your DOT number.
2. Stay away from the investigation threshold, especially if you want specialty contracts.
The number doesn’t just let you and other members of the team know when your trucks are potential safety risks. Bad scores are a sign to the FMCSA, or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, that they need to investigate your company. If your company is rated as a high risk in categories like crashing or unsafe vehicles, the administration will start to investigate, and the threshold gets lower if your company handles hazardous or dangerous loads to begin with. Keep an eye on your score both to make sure your drivers are operating safely and you’re well within the margins for specialty jobs.
3. CSA scores correlate to the risk of insuring your company.
Insurance companies can see a lot of the information surrounding your CSA scores. If your score labels you as a high risk on the road, then your insurer will see you as a high risk to insure. Monitoring your score, especially if your risk levels drop, gives you the information you need to get a fair deal on your insurance.
Don’t let old bad scores inflate your insurance premiums, and don’t work with a company that’s giving you bad rates. Go to J.E.B. Insurance Services, LLC. for tips on improving your CSA percentiles and to get the best deal on your trucking insurance. We provide commercial truck insurance in the states of Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.
