May 13, 2026

Behind the Badge: What Fleets Should Really Know about ISS Scores

< 1 min read

Summary

  • What an ISS score is and how it's used at weigh stations and inspection sites
  • What inspectors are looking at when they select a vehicle for inspection 
  • How ISS scores are used differently across states
  • The real lifecycle of a roadside inspection and how it connects back to your ISS score 
  • Why getting inspected isn't always bad news... and how a clean inspection can help you 

Most carriers know their ISS scores. Fewer understand what goes on behind the scenes when a trooper decides to perform an inspection.  

In this webinar, two former commercial vehicle enforcement officers discuss how a roadside inspection works from the moment your truck hits the bypass system to what ends up in the FMCSA database.

Led by Rob Abbott, Fleetworthy VP Corporate Strategy, Todd James and Tom Kelly give the troopers’ perspective as they answer real questions submitted by attendees. Scroll down to see a full list of questions and answers below. 

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Questions from our Audience

Will a 30 ISS score allow me to bypass?

The ISS system recommendation to the enforcement agency is that your trucks be permitted to bypass the weigh station in favor of prioritizing other trucks that may be less safe/compliant. However, your trucks are still subject to being pulled in randomly, or for other reasons (e.g., weight violations, non- payment of IFTA or IRP). It is important to note that the varying pull in rates established by state agencies will impact your likilihood of being selected for inspection depending on where you operate. They can change these rates at their own discretion. The ISS score is merely a tool used to prioritize fleets for inspection and a low score does not necessarily mean an automatic bypass.

How big a role does a driver's cooperation/attitude play in an encounter?

We have found that most commercial vehicle enforcement officers are very professional, objective, and matter-of-fact. However, they do have legal authority to exercise discretion with respect to how they respond to any given situation — whether to cite or warn a driver for a violation, or look further when they see indicators of other violations. It is unrealistic to expect that driver attitude never plays a role in how the officer chooses to exercise that discretion. Not unlike other interactions with people in the course of work or daily life, attitudes by both parties could impact the outcome.

What causes you to go beyond a general inspection. Does driver attitude play a part?

Officers will investigate more deeply when they see indicators that other violations exist. For instance, if in the process of conducting a Level 3 “driver only” inspection the officer sees obvious vehicle defects, the officer may then choose to conduct a Level 1 or Level 2 vehicle inspection. With respect to driver attitude, please see the answer to the question above.

Why would speeding be noted as a violation during a level 3 if there was not a citation given to the driver as well.

The issuance of a citation under state law and the administration of an inspection to determine compliance with the FMCSRs are separate processes. An officer may note the speeding offense on the inspection report (e.g., 5-10 mph over the limit) but choose not to issue a citation under state law. Officers have the discretion when and if to: a) Issue a citation, and/or b) Record the violation on the roadside inspection report. The issuance of warnings (rather than citations) is probably more common in states where officers are required to have probable cause to stop vehicles for inspection, and may use minor speeding offenses as justification for the inspection. Of course, this scenario is the source of some consternation and debate within the trucking industry.

Define Personal Conveyance. Also, can you use Personal Conveyance if you are kicked off the customer’s property and out of hours? For yard movement, can you use it at truck stops or only at the customers?

FMCSA’s guidance permits the use of personal conveyance to travel to a nearby, reasonable, safe location to obtain required rest after loading or unloading. FMCSA has posted lots of helpful information on personal conveyance here. With regard to yard moves: Vehicle movements may recorded as yard movements (as opposed to driving) when the driver is on private property in a lot with restricted access (e.g., gates/signs). Otherwise, the lot (or truck stop) constitutes a “highway” which is defined as any road, street, or way, whether on public or private property, open to public travel. In most cases, truck stops are not “restricted access areas,” so movements within them usually cannot be recorded as “yard moves.” Time spent traveling on a “highway” must be recorded as driving time. Please see the top of page 5 in this hours of service guide.

How do you spot illegal Personal Conveyance use and what do you do when it's found?

Most officers will look for excessive vehicle movements that the driver claimed to qualify as personal conveyance to see if they all met the conditions FMCSA has described in their guidance. If the officer spots anomalies, he/she will likely ask the driver a series of quesitons to further investigate. When a driver is found to have recorded driving time as personal conveyance inappropriately, the officer will note a violation of the hours of service recordkeeping requirements on the inspection report. In some cases, the improper use of personal conveyance can also trigger a violation of the hour of service limits.

What are the top 2 violations being written that drivers think they're doing correctly?

In our experience they are:

  1. The driver not knowing how to complete an electronic transfer of the ELD file to the enforcement officer, and
  2. Various log form and manner errors.

Exactly how are we supposed to maintain compliant D.Q. files after the medical certification forms are digitally sent to the DMV and the drivers are not given the long forms to return to us?

If the driver is a CDL holder, the fleet should obtain a copy of the driver’s motor vehicle record to confirm that it reflects the driver’s current medical certification.

Can you give a perspective to issuing Warnings versus a ticket for violations? The argument is Warnings can be view as worse due to, "safety impacts", many argue that a ticket is better, as a ticket can be contested and potentially dismissed, whereas a warning is an admission of guilt that immediately hits a safety record.

In our view, most drivers would prefer to receive a warning versus a citation/ticket, due to the greater impact on the driver’s personal driving record (i.e., motor vehicle record). Admittedly, the receipt of a citation gives the driver an opportunity to challenge the citation in court and, if dismissed, ask that the violation be removed form the inspection record. However, there is also a risk that the citation is not dismissed and the driver is left with the resulting consequences. Again, we believe most drivers would prefer to receive a warning vs a citation. Officers have discretion on the issuance of tickets versus listing the violation on the inspection report. It is important to remember that violations recorded on inspection reports do not constitute an admission of guilt. Carriers can still challenge these violations through the DataQ process.

When you decided whether to inspect or cite a vehicle, what specific factors or red flags mattered most beyond the official scoring systems—and which ones do fleets often underestimate?

The scoring systems are generally used to help prioritize vehicles, drivers and fleets for inspections, not to issue citations. Fleets probably underestimate the importance that obvious vehicle violations (i.e.spotted by the officer; load securement, underinflated tires) can play in the selection and inspection process. They usually take priority over the fleet’s ISS score. Fleets can also be pulled in when they have expired credentials, are overweight, or selected randomly.

What is the math formula used to calculate your ISS score?

Please feel free to download our short, plain-English, guide to understanding the Inspection Selection System here.

What advice would you give a new driver on what would be the keys to know during an inspection

Our advice to a new driver would be:

  1. Always be sure to do a careful, thorough pre-trip inspection, even if the truck was fine when you parked it at the end of your prior shift.
  2. During your first roadside inspections, be patient, ask questions and demonstrate your genuine interest in learning about the inspection process – and your commitment to operating safely.
  3. The officer will ask the driver to transfer his logs electronically. The driver should learn how to do so confidently before the beginning of his first trip.
  4. Last, the driver should be sure his paperwork is easily accessible.

What is the reason ISS score suddenly jumps up and down?

If the carrier’s percentile rank in any CSA Safety Measurement system category (BASIC), especially the Hours of Service category, rises above the threshold for that category the ISS score may jump dramatically. For a more complete explanation, download our short, plain-English guide to understanding the Inspection Selection System here.

What is the role of the bypass system in determining whether to pull a truck for an inspection? What information is gathered about the truck before it even stops at the scale and how technology enables this?

The bypass system is merely a tool used by enforcement officials to make the process of selecting vehicle for inspection more efficient. They have full control over the system to grant bypasses or pull vehicles in for closer inspection. In terms of information checked: Enforcement officials will often check vehicle weight and compliance with registration and applicable tax requirements (IFTA/IRP). In terms of technology: some sites make use of weigh-in-motion scales (WIMs), as discussed during the webinar.

What is the most common violation?

Underinflated tires, tires that are leaking air, brakes and lighting.

Does your selection criteria change at all during enforcement events like Roadcheck?

No. During Roadcheck the selection process does not change. The focus of the inspection may change, to be consistent with the Roadcheck theme (e.g., load securement, brakes).

When hauling an OD or Hazmat load (permitted load) if I get a bypass am I still required to pull into the weigh station and show permits?

It depends on the state(s) in which you are traveling. Some states require drivers carrying these loads to pull in, even if they get a bypass notification. See details at this link.

Is Yard Move an acceptable status when maneuvering at a Truck Stop? If not, why?

Vehicle movements may be recorded as yard movements (as opposed to driving) when the driver is on private property in a lot with restricted access (e.g., gates/signs). Otherwise, the lot (or truck stop) constitutes a “highway” which is defined as any road, street, or way, whether on public or private property, open to public travel. If the truck stop is open to public travel, it is generally regarded as a “highway.”

Because our total number of inspections over the past 24 months reached 101, it pushed our rating into a higher peer group and our ISS score went from 47 to 84. Would officers consider this or do they just look at the overall ISS scores?

Officers will typically look only at the current ISS score and not dig deeper to understand the justification for the score or a recent trend (e.g., it rose due to a change in the assigned peer group for carrier comparison).

Why isn't Drivewyze working in Washington?

The state of Washington has not yet accepted the Use of our bypass system, however, that will be changing soon. Please stay tuned! We hope to have service there by September.

Must a driver be ODND to use Yard Move?

Yes, qualifying yard moves should be recorded as on-duty, not driving time. See the top of page 5 of this hours of service guide.

Is Yard Move an acceptable status when maneuvering at a Truck Stop?

Generally, a driver may not record time operating at a truck stop as a “Yard Move” if the facility is otherwise open to public travel. See page five of this hours of service guide.

Can a driver edit his log to change drive time to yard move to correct a violation that occurs while on the yard performing his post trip inspection and parking his truck?

No. See this guidance from FMCSA. Drivers can edit their logs and make annotations but cannot shorten automatically recorded drive time.

Yard move used to include "trafficways" which are parking lots. This changed with the ELD mandate but would help drivers who are close on their time.

Agreed. Please see the top of page 5 of this hours of service guide.

Regarding non domiciled CDLs, if a DOT officer sees that a driver has one, will they put the driver OOS (maybe based on Driver Fitness)? And how will that play into the ISS/CSA score?

The driver will not be placed out-of-service if the driver holds a current, valid CDL issued by a state. In this scenario, the driver would only be placed out of service if his license had been cancelled by the state. Such a violation would impact the fleet’s ISS and CSA/SMS scores as it would be recorded as a violation.

If a driver is delayed at a customer location which exhausts their hours and they are 10 minutes from the work reporting location and 15 minutes away from a truck stop - which location should they drive to without being in violation of Personal Conveyance?

Our interpretation of FMCSA’s personal conveyance guidance is that the driver could travel to either destination as long as the trip is to travel to “a nearby, reasonable, safe location to obtain required rest” and the movement is not in the furtherance of commerce. See the guidance here.

If a driver notes a defect in the DVIR (Driver Vehicle Inspection Report) that has since been fixed by an outside shop, but the electronic record wasn't 'cleared' or signed off in the handheld system, do you treat that as an active safety violation or a documentation error?

The scenario would be described as a documentation error.

Would a fleet with middle of ground ISS score lose out on getting good inspections and lowering the score if they use weigh station bypass?

This is an excellent question that is asked often. Our view is that drivers should see every weigh station bypass as an opportunity to save time and fuel. While it is true that fleets’ performance “measures” in the CSA Safety Measurement System are positively impacted by violation-free inspections, we feel the fleet will have ample opportunity to obtain such inspections as they will be pulled in randomly, even if they have a favorable ISS score. Remember, the Inspection Selection System is merely a tool used by enforcement and enforcement officers are not required to follow the ISS recomendations. If an officer notes obvious equpiment violations, your truck will likely be subjected to an inspection, even if you have a favorable ISS score.

The responses provided are for informational purposes only and are based on the limited facts presented. They do not constitute legal advice, formal interpretations, or official guidance. For advice regarding specific situations, consultation with qualified legal counsel or appropriate regulatory authorities is recommended.