How to Read FMCSA Out-of-Service Rates

An out-of-service (OOS) rate is the share of roadside inspections that found a violation serious enough to pull the vehicle or driver off the road until it's fixed. It's one of the clearest signals of a carrier's day-to-day safety.

Vehicle vs driver OOS

Vehicle OOS covers mechanical defects (brakes, tires, lights). Driver OOS covers issues like hours-of-service or licensing. Nationally, roughly 1 in 5 vehicle inspections and about 1 in 17 driver inspections end in an out-of-service order.

How to read it

Lower is better. A vehicle OOS rate well above the ~22% national average suggests maintenance problems; a high driver OOS rate suggests compliance problems. Always weigh the rate against how many inspections it's based on — a 50% rate on two inspections means little.