BASIC measures

Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories. The seven categories FMCSA uses to organize motor carrier safety data: Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials Compliance, and Crash Indicator.

Why it matters

Each BASIC is independently scored, percentile-ranked against peer carriers, and surfaced to enforcement, shippers, brokers, insurers, and procurement. A carrier reading high in any single BASIC takes the consequences across all those surfaces at once. Reading low (good) across multiple BASICs unlocks freight access that high-percentile carriers are structurally locked out of.

Where it appears in a Hoffman Report

The Safety record — peer-cohort analysis table on a Hoffman Report shows each BASIC's three-year weighted score, the peer cohort average, and the carrier's position against the cohort. Acute and critical violation flags are surfaced alongside each BASIC.

Related terms

• FMCSA SMS
• Peer-cohort grading
• Unsafe Driving
• Hours-of-Service Compliance
• Driver Fitness
• Vehicle Maintenance

BASIC scores are public and refresh monthly. The authoritative federal source is the FMCSA SMS website.