Which Moving Companies Have the Most Crashes? FMCSA Data on 39 Profiled Carriers

FMCSA tracks every reportable crash involving a registered motor carrier. The data is public, updated continuously, and accessible through FMCSA's SAFER database. Among the 1,420 movers profiled in Trunk's database, 39 have at least one recorded crash. Here is what the numbers show.

The two highest absolute crash counts in our database belong to Allied Van Lines (991 crashes, 1,056 trucks) and North American Van Lines (869 crashes, 1,333 trucks). Both are Indiana-based van line carriers with some of the largest fleets in the country.

This is not a safety indictment of either company. A carrier with 1,000 trucks operating millions of miles per year will accumulate more crashes in raw count than a carrier with 5 trucks, regardless of how carefully the larger fleet is managed. The raw number is a function of exposure, not just behavior. Per-truck rates correct for this, and both Allied and North American fall below 1.0 crashes per truck, at 0.94 and 0.65 respectively, placing them near the bottom of the rate rankings among carriers with fleet data.

The following carriers had the highest total crashes among profiled movers as of August 2026.

1. Allied Van Lines (DOT 76235, IN): 991 crashes, 1,056 trucks 2. North American Van Lines (DOT 70851, IN): 869 crashes, 1,333 trucks 3. American Van Lines (DOT 614506, FL): 116 crashes, 81 trucks 4. Gentle Giant Moving Company (DOT 373544, MA): 77 crashes, 88 trucks 5. Arena Van Lines (DOT 3249356, NJ): 53 crashes, 29 trucks 6. Cobra Van Lines Moving System (DOT 4309696, NJ): 46 crashes, 7 trucks 7. Relo Van Lines LLC (DOT 2080182, AL): 33 crashes, 4 trucks 8. Cita Van Lines (DOT 2957415, MO): 29 crashes, 12 trucks 9. Alliance Moving and Storage (DOT 2882675, IL): 22 crashes, 14 trucks 10. Michael's Moving and Storage (DOT 608571, MA): 16 crashes, 10 trucks

American Van Lines at 116 crashes with 81 trucks stands out among mid-size carriers: a per-truck rate of 1.43, the highest among carriers with more than 20 trucks in the dataset. Gentle Giant, with 77 crashes across 88 trucks (0.88 per truck), is consistent with fleet scale.

Per-truck rate is a more meaningful comparator for operators with similar fleet sizes. Among carriers with 10 or fewer trucks, the following had the highest rates.

1. Relo Van Lines LLC (DOT 2080182, AL): 33 crashes across 4 trucks, 8.3 per truck 2. Cobra Van Lines Moving System (DOT 4309696, NJ): 46 crashes across 7 trucks, 6.6 per truck 3. Virginia Van Lines (DOT 3815615, IL): 6 crashes across 1 truck, 6.0 per truck 4. First Class Movers (DOT 3846816, IL): 5 crashes across 1 truck, 5.0 per truck 5. All Together Movers LLC (DOT 3870204, NJ): 6 crashes across 2 trucks, 3.0 per truck 6. Southern Elite Van Lines (DOT 4083659, GA): 12 crashes across 5 trucks, 2.4 per truck 7. X Van Lines LLC (DOT 3391195, TX): 4 crashes across 2 trucks, 2.0 per truck 8. Midland Van Lines LLC (DOT 4434888, GA): 2 crashes across 1 truck, 2.0 per truck 9. Northern Elite Van Lines (DOT 3291364, NJ): 2 crashes across 1 truck, 2.0 per truck 10. DC Moving Inc (DOT 3414081, MD): 5 crashes across 3 trucks, 1.7 per truck

Relo Van Lines' rate of 8.3 crashes per truck is the highest in the dataset by a wide margin. A carrier with 4 trucks accumulating 33 FMCSA-reportable crashes is a meaningful signal. Cobra Van Lines in New Jersey has 46 crashes across 7 trucks (6.6 per truck), also well above any comparable small operator.

FMCSA reportable crashes include any incident involving a commercial motor vehicle that results in a fatality, injury requiring medical treatment beyond first aid, or a vehicle towed from the scene. Crashes are recorded regardless of fault. A driver rear-ended at a stoplight and a driver who ran a red light both appear in the same count.

This is a known limitation. FMCSA's Safety Measurement System applies a weighting factor to account for the fact that crash data does not indicate preventability, but the raw SAFER count shown here does not include that adjustment.

An additional limitation: FMCSA crash data only includes crashes involving vehicles registered to the carrier's DOT number. Many household goods carriers, particularly smaller operators and fraud networks, use Penske or Ryder rental trucks rather than company-owned vehicles. Crashes involving rental trucks may not be attributed to the carrier that hired them, because the truck is registered to the rental company, not to the mover. This means the crash data for small carriers using rental trucks may significantly undercount their actual crash involvement.

What crash data does tell you: the carrier has commercial vehicle operations at a scale and frequency that produces incidents. High rates relative to fleet size are worth examining alongside other signals, including inspection violations, out-of-service rates, and complaint history. No single data point is dispositive, but a small operator with a crash rate several times higher than large carriers is operating in a way that warrants closer review.

Of the 1,420 profiled movers in the database, 1,381 have zero recorded crashes. Some of those are genuinely careful operators. Others are carriers that registered recently, operate rarely, or have not yet had an incident that met the FMCSA reporting threshold. A carrier with zero crashes and a DOT number filed six months ago has not demonstrated a safety record. It has demonstrated a short operating history.

Conversely, large carriers with high absolute crash counts but low per-truck rates have demonstrated sustained operations at scale. The raw count reflects exposure, not negligence.

FMCSA's SAFER database (safer.fmcsa.dot.gov) is publicly accessible. Enter the carrier's DOT number to retrieve crash data, inspection history, out-of-service rates, and safety rating. The carrier's DOT number must appear on any estimate or contract for interstate moves.

The Safety Measurement System (SMS) at ai.fmcsa.dot.gov provides a more detailed breakdown by safety behavior category, including crash indicator percentile rankings relative to peer carriers. A carrier in the top 10% of the crash indicator nationally is flagged for FMCSA attention.

For household goods specifically, also check the National Consumer Complaint Database (nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov) for complaint volume by year. Crash data and complaint data together give a more complete picture than either source alone.