CHIEF FREIGHT LINES INC
Safety
Roadside out-of-service rates versus the national benchmark, inspection and crash trends, decoded violation themes, and ELD / hours-of-service integrity — the full safety picture behind the verdict.
Out-of-service rate· 24-mo cumulative · vs national
Vehicle OOS rate· vehicle OOS · vehicle-level inspections · 6-month trailing
Roadside inspection history· 24 charted calendar months · vehicle / driver level · any-OOS overlay
22 inspections in the charted months · busiest month Sep '25 · 3
Inspection coverage· expected vs observed · the fraud signal
How heavily FMCSA inspects this fleet for its size — it tells you how much to trust the safety signals above. Thin coverage on a young authority is a fraud signal nobody else surfaces.
- Registered power units
- 26
- Inspections · 24 mo
- 23
- Annualized
- ≈12 / yr
- Coverage
- ≈0.4 inspections / unit · yr
BASIC categories· CSA SMS · Aug 2026
Violation themes· decoded · grouped by BASIC
What this carrier actually gets cited for — FMCSA violation codes decoded into plain English, ranked by frequency.
- 393.9 Inoperative required lampsVehicle Maintenance17 · 1 OOS
- 392.2 State/local traffic law violation (speeding, etc.)Unsafe Driving15 · 0 OOS
- 392.16 Failure to use seat beltUnsafe Driving3 · 0 OOS
- 396.3 Inspection / repair / maintenance not performedVehicle Maintenance3 · 3 OOS
- 393.207 Parts & accessories (vehicle condition)Vehicle Maintenance2 · 2 OOS
- 393.75 Tires (defective / underinflated / worn)Vehicle Maintenance2 · 1 OOS
- 393.95 Emergency equipment (extinguisher, triangles)Vehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
- 393.47 Brake actuators / linings / componentsVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
- 393.203 Parts & accessories (vehicle condition)Vehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
- 393.23 Parts & accessories (vehicle condition)Vehicle Maintenance1 · 1 OOS
ELD & hours-of-service
No hours-of-service or ELD violations on record across 34 inspections — a clean logging history.
Crash history· 68 total · 1 in 24 mo
| Year | Crashes | Fatal | Injury | Tow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2005 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
| 1996 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Date | State | Fatalities | Injuries | Tow-away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 2026 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Dec 10, 2023 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 26, 2023 | OH | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jul 22, 2021 | OH | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Oct 27, 2020 | MI | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Oct 13, 2020 | MI | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jan 16, 2020 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Apr 4, 2019 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| May 10, 2018 | MI | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Apr 17, 2018 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jan 2, 2018 | IN | 0 | 1 | No |
| Dec 15, 2017 | OH | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Sep 13, 2017 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Mar 28, 2017 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jan 5, 2017 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Oct 17, 2016 | IN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Oct 12, 2016 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jan 26, 2016 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Sep 11, 2014 | OH | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Aug 26, 2014 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 28, 2014 | OH | 0 | 2 | No |
| Dec 30, 2013 | IN | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Nov 11, 2013 | IL | 0 | 1 | No |
| Mar 11, 2013 | IN | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Feb 6, 2013 | IN | 0 | 4 | Yes |