ESTES EXPRESS LINES
DBA ESTES
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
4,380 inspections in the charted months · busiest month May '25 · 237
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
- 9,805
- Inspections · 24 mo
- 4,553
- Annualized
- ≈2,277 / yr
- Coverage
- ≈0.2 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.
- 392.2 State/local traffic law violation (speeding, etc.)Unsafe Driving1,647 · 1 OOS
- 393.9 Inoperative required lampsVehicle Maintenance855 · 237 OOS
- 393.45 Brake tubing / hose defectsVehicle Maintenance503 · 111 OOS
- 393.75 Tires (defective / underinflated / worn)Vehicle Maintenance360 · 289 OOS
- 393.55 Antilock brake system (ABS)Vehicle Maintenance278 · 0 OOS
- 395.24 ELD — record edits / dataHOS Compliance226 · 0 OOS
- 393.11 Required lamps/reflectors missingVehicle Maintenance193 · 4 OOS
- 396.3 Inspection / repair / maintenance not performedVehicle Maintenance182 · 84 OOS
- 392.16 Failure to use seat beltUnsafe Driving160 · 0 OOS
- 393.47 Brake actuators / linings / componentsVehicle Maintenance144 · 21 OOS
ELD & hours-of-service
471 hours-of-service / ELD violations on record · most recent Jun 4, 2026. FMCSA does not publish the ELD device brand; these are the carrier's logging-compliance signals.
Trending worse — 72% of ELD violations are in the last 24 months. Falsified-log violations are a serious integrity flag.
Crash history· 6,386 total · 580 in 24 mo
| Year | Crashes | Fatal | Injury | Tow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 161 | 2 | 56 | 151 | |
| 2025 | 306 | 6 | 109 | 293 | |
| 2024 | 306 | 4 | 94 | 296 | |
| 2023 | 281 | 10 | 88 | 270 | |
| 2022 | 290 | 10 | 95 | 273 | |
| 2021 | 289 | 10 | 87 | 277 | |
| 2020 | 261 | 5 | 86 | 257 | |
| 2019 | 261 | 6 | 92 | 250 | |
| 2018 | 287 | 7 | 90 | 280 | |
| 2017 | 252 | 5 | 86 | 240 | |
| 2016 | 243 | 10 | 64 | 234 | |
| 2015 | 260 | 8 | 93 | 246 | |
| 2014 | 241 | 4 | 86 | 236 | |
| 2013 | 199 | 9 | 80 | 186 | |
| 2012 | 213 | 6 | 79 | 204 | |
| 2011 | 206 | 10 | 86 | 191 | |
| 2010 | 196 | 7 | 75 | 180 | |
| 2009 | 184 | 0 | 85 | 169 | |
| 2008 | 204 | 7 | 83 | 187 | |
| 2007 | 188 | 7 | 77 | 165 | |
| 2006 | 198 | 5 | 86 | 166 | |
| 2005 | 179 | 10 | 84 | 156 | |
| 2004 | 173 | 5 | 67 | 158 | |
| 2003 | 173 | 7 | 84 | 156 | |
| 2002 | 132 | 10 | 62 | 125 | |
| 2001 | 129 | 7 | 62 | 114 | |
| 2000 | 118 | 4 | 58 | 107 | |
| 1999 | 94 | 6 | 50 | 76 | |
| 1998 | 81 | 6 | 48 | 74 | |
| 1997 | 67 | 4 | 33 | 64 | |
| 1996 | 89 | 3 | 46 | 82 | |
| 1995 | 60 | 2 | 35 | 54 | |
| 1994 | 45 | 1 | 23 | 33 | |
| 1993 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1992 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
| 1990 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Date | State | Fatalities | Injuries | Tow-away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2026 | NC | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 20, 2026 | NJ | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 20, 2026 | KY | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 18, 2026 | AR | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 18, 2026 | VA | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jul 16, 2026 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 11, 2026 | NC | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jul 2, 2026 | KY | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 2, 2026 | LA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jul 2, 2026 | GA | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jul 1, 2026 | GA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 26, 2026 | LA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 25, 2026 | MA | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jun 22, 2026 | TN | 0 | 3 | Yes |
| Jun 20, 2026 | PA | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jun 19, 2026 | MA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 13, 2026 | OH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 12, 2026 | LA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 12, 2026 | LA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 11, 2026 | TN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 11, 2026 | NH | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 9, 2026 | PA | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 8, 2026 | IA | 0 | 1 | No |
| Jun 8, 2026 | OH | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Jun 8, 2026 | TX | 0 | 0 | Yes |