OTTER TAIL POWER CO
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
16 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
- 180
- Inspections · 24 mo
- 16
- Annualized
- ≈8 / yr
- Coverage
- ≈0.0 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 Driving9 · 0 OOS
- 393.9 Inoperative required lampsVehicle Maintenance7 · 2 OOS
- 390.21 USDOT number marking on vehicleUnsafe Driving5 · 0 OOS
- 393.43 Parts & accessories (vehicle condition)Vehicle Maintenance4 · 4 OOS
- 393.48 Brakes inoperativeVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
- 396.3 Inspection / repair / maintenance not performedVehicle Maintenance1 · 1 OOS
- 383.23 Operating without a valid CDLDriver Fitness1 · 1 OOS
- 396.5 Oil and/or grease leakVehicle Maintenance1 · 1 OOS
- 392.16 Failure to use seat beltUnsafe Driving1 · 0 OOS
- 393.19 Parts & accessories (vehicle condition)Vehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
ELD & hours-of-service
No hours-of-service or ELD violations on record across 22 inspections — a clean logging history.
Crash history· 13 total · 2 in 24 mo
| Year | Crashes | Fatal | Injury | Tow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1990 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Date | State | Fatalities | Injuries | Tow-away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16, 2026 | ND | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jan 13, 2025 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Sep 27, 2019 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Apr 29, 2019 | ND | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Dec 27, 2011 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Apr 24, 2009 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 5, 2008 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 21, 2004 | ND | 0 | 5 | Yes |
| Oct 30, 2000 | ND | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Mar 18, 1997 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| Jun 29, 1996 | ND | 0 | 1 | Yes |
| Nov 20, 1992 | ND | 0 | 0 | No |
| Mar 7, 1990 | MN | 0 | 0 | Yes |