CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) is one of the key fleet safety indicators in the FMCSA system. It affects insurance costs, access to loads, broker reputation, and the likelihood of roadside inspections. The higher your CSA risk, the more often you get inspected—and the more indirect costs your company absorbs.
The good news is that CSA score improvement is achievable within 60–90 days if you follow a clear, structured process. Below, we’ll cover what typically pulls CSA down, which actions deliver the fastest results, and how Unity ELD supports the process without adding extra workload for dispatch or drivers.
Factors affecting CSA score
CSA is built from BASIC categories (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories). In practice, score drops usually come from a few repeating issues:
1) HOS errors and ELD log violations
This is the most common problem for small and mid-size fleets:
- exceeding driving/on-duty limits,
- missing or incorrect breaks,
- wrong duty statuses (e.g., on-duty instead of off-duty),
- late edits or no edits at all.
For inspectors, the recorded violation matters—even if it was caused by simple inattention.
2) Vehicle maintenance issues (Vehicle Maintenance BASIC)
Problems with brakes, lights, tires, cargo securement, leaks, etc. lead to roadside violations. Even “minor” defects pile up CSA points over time.
3) Unsafe driving and speed violations
This includes speeding, harsh maneuvers, following too closely, and hard braking. These events directly hurt the Unsafe Driving BASIC and strongly affect insurance evaluations.
4) Unassigned driving time and status mismatches
Unassigned driving, log gaps, and unclear status switches look like non-compliance with real work/rest patterns. Even if it’s a technical or accidental issue, the violation and CSA impact are real.
Important: every inspection feeds new data into the Safety Measurement System (SMS). If the same issues repeat, they accumulate quickly and drag your CSA down.
Strategies to improve CSA score
To raise CSA effectively, focus on priorities-don’t try to fix everything at once. Target what contributes the most to your points.
1) Remove your top 3 recurring violations
Review violations from the last 2-3 months and identify:
- what repeats most often,
- which BASICs those violations fall under,
- which drivers/units account for most of them.
Impact: fixing your top 2–3 causes usually delivers visible CSA improvement within weeks.
2) Set up regular HOS monitoring
The goal is not to “clean logs after a ticket” but to prevent errors before an inspection:
- daily HOS limit checks,
- correct status changes,
- timely edits,
- tracking unassigned driving.
Impact: fewer HOS violations quickly improves HOS Compliance and overall CSA.
3) Run short weekly safety briefings
Experience shows 10 minutes per week on one common mistake works better than a big annual training.
Simple format:
- violation of the week,
- why it happens,
- how to avoid it,
- short driver checklist.
Impact: fewer repeat violations and stronger day-to-day discipline.
4) Make pre-trip and post-trip inspections a strict standard
Most maintenance violations are preventable when DVIR routines are consistent.
Regular inspections lead to:
- fewer roadside tickets,
- fewer out-of-service cases,
- better Vehicle Maintenance BASIC scores.
Impact: even a few weeks of strict inspection discipline can cut CSA points noticeably.
5) Track driver behavior
Unsafe driving is not just about tickets—it’s also accident risk.
Monitor:
- speed,
- harsh braking,
- aggressive acceleration,
- high-speed cornering.
Impact: fewer unsafe events → lower CSA risk → better terms with insurers and brokers.
Technology and innovations
Technology makes CSA score improvement easier because it catches risks early and reduces the human-error factor. Unity ELD supports the most critical compliance and safety areas.
How Unity ELD helps improve CSA
1) Real-time HOS alerts
The system warns drivers and dispatch when limits are approaching and violations are likely.
This allows proactive adjustments to stops, shifts, or routing.
2) Accurate & consistent logs
Unity ELD helps keep logs clean and consistent—no gaps, correct duty statuses, and a clear, traceable timeline.
This reduces accidental log errors and lowers the chance of inspection issues.
3) Driver and event reporting
The system shows:
- which drivers most often generate HOS errors,
- which lanes or routes have more unsafe events,
- which units cause repeated maintenance issues.
That lets you fix problems precisely instead of guessing.
4) Automatic data retention for reviews
When a violation is disputable, details matter: time, location, status history, and comments.
Unity ELD automatically preserves event history, making investigations easier and helping prevent unnecessary CSA points.
CSA score improvement is a controlled process, not a one-time campaign.
It works when you:
- eliminate repeating violations,
- monitor HOS proactively,
- enforce pre/post-trip inspections,
- reduce unsafe driving,
- rely on telematics and analytics.
If you follow these steps consistently for 60–90 days, CSA will begin improving steadily. Unity ELD makes the path simpler—from HOS compliance and log quality to clear, actionable risk analytics.
CSA score improvement FAQs
How fast can CSA score improve?
You’ll typically see first improvements within 1–3 months after fixing the main violations.
Speed depends on:
- how often your fleet gets inspected,
- severity of prior violations,
consistency of new compliance results.
What causes CSA score to drop most often?
Most CSA declines come from three areas:
- HOS violations and ELD log errors.
- Maintenance violations (Vehicle Maintenance BASIC).
- Unsafe driving—speeding and aggressive behavior.
Fixing these three usually delivers the majority of score improvement.