Moving Companies With the Highest Inspection Failure Rates: FMCSA Safety Data

When an FMCSA roadside inspector finds a serious safety violation on a commercial vehicle, the truck or driver is placed "out of service" (OOS). This means the vehicle cannot continue operating until the violation is corrected. For a moving truck carrying your household goods, an OOS order means your belongings are sitting on the side of the road in a truck that has been declared unsafe to drive.

There are two separate OOS rates tracked by FMCSA. Vehicle OOS rate measures the percentage of vehicle inspections that result in the truck being pulled off the road, typically for brake failures, tire defects, lighting violations, or frame cracks. Driver OOS rate measures the percentage of driver inspections that result in the driver being disqualified, typically for hours-of-service violations, suspended licenses, or failed drug and alcohol testing.

The national average vehicle OOS rate is 22.26%. The national average driver OOS rate is 6.67%. Any company significantly above these thresholds is operating equipment or employing drivers that pose a measurably higher safety risk than the industry baseline.

Most consumers never think about truck safety when hiring a moving company. They compare prices, read Google reviews, and maybe check if the company is licensed. But the condition of the truck carrying your belongings is one of the most important and least examined factors in a move.

A truck with bad brakes or worn tires is more likely to be involved in an accident. If that happens during your long-distance move, your belongings could be destroyed, delayed for weeks while insurance claims are processed, or simply lost. A driver violating hours-of-service rules is fatigued, increasing accident risk. A driver with a suspended CDL should not be behind the wheel at all.

FMCSA inspection data is publicly available for any registered carrier. You can look up any company's safety record on the FMCSA SAFER system by searching their USDOT number.

In Trunk's database of 2,231 FMCSA-registered household goods carriers, inspection data is sparse because many small movers have few or no recorded roadside inspections. However, the data that does exist reveals concerning patterns.

International Van Lines Inc (USDOT 2293832), a 24-truck carrier with "Active" authority status, has a vehicle OOS rate of 36.4% across 11 vehicle inspections. That means more than one in three of their trucks were pulled off the road when inspected. Their driver OOS rate of 10.0% across 30 driver inspections is also above the national average of 6.67%. This carrier operates with "Active" rather than "Authorized" status, which itself raises questions about their operating authority classification.

The lack of inspection data for most carriers is itself a finding. Small carriers with 1 to 3 trucks may go years without a roadside inspection, meaning there is no independent safety verification of their equipment. Of the 2,231 HHG carriers in our database, only a fraction have any recorded inspection results at all.

Large van lines like Allied Van Lines (1,056 trucks) and North American Van Lines (1,333 trucks) generate enough roadside encounters that their inspection data is statistically meaningful. But the household goods industry is dominated by small operators. In Trunk's database, companies flagged for consumer complaints often operate with just 1 to 3 trucks.

Howards Vanlines Inc, which accumulated 158 NCCDB complaints in 2026 alone, operates with a single truck. LoadRans LLC, with 73 complaints in 2026, operates 12 trucks. Coastal Moving Services LLC, with 79 complaints in 2026, reports zero trucks on file. These companies may have no inspection history at all, not because their trucks are safe, but because they rarely encounter inspectors.

This creates a dangerous blind spot. The companies most likely to cut corners on maintenance are also the companies least likely to be inspected.

Before hiring a moving company, you can check their safety record in minutes. Visit the FMCSA SAFER website (safer.fmcsa.dot.gov) and enter the company's USDOT number or name. The safety profile will show their inspection history, OOS rates, crash history, and insurance status.

Red flags to watch for include a vehicle OOS rate above 30% (nearly 1.5 times the national average), a driver OOS rate above 10% (about 1.5 times the national average), any fatal crashes on record, and a fleet size of zero trucks (which may indicate a broker, not a carrier).

You should also compare the company's fleet size against their inspection count. A company claiming 20 trucks but showing zero inspections over multiple years may not be operating the equipment they report, or may be using rental trucks that are inspected under a different authority.

FMCSA uses inspection and crash data as inputs to its Safety Measurement System (SMS), which assigns carriers to safety categories called BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories). Carriers that exceed thresholds in categories like Unsafe Driving, Vehicle Maintenance, or HOS Compliance may receive warning letters or be prioritized for compliance reviews.

However, FMCSA enforcement has significant gaps when it comes to household goods carriers. The agency's resources are primarily focused on large freight carriers and hazmat transporters. Small HHG carriers, even those with poor safety records, rarely face enforcement action unless they are involved in a serious crash or are the subject of a specific investigation.

The result is a system where safety data exists but is rarely acted upon for the segment of the industry most likely to interact with individual consumers.