Driver and vehicle out-of-service findings in the public SMS feed
In this dated snapshot, 5.42% of eligible driver inspections and 21.47% of eligible vehicle inspections had an out-of-service finding. These are separate inspection populations.
Analysis: Truck Safety Research · Publisher: Top Tier Legal LLC · Published October 10, 2026
Findings and denominators
| Inspection population | Eligible carrier records | Inspections | Out of service | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 365,802 | 4,931,955 | 267,521 | 5.42% |
| Vehicle | 311,484 | 3,173,372 | 681,364 | 21.47% |
The rates differ by 16.05 percentage points. Driver and vehicle inspections test different requirements; this difference does not establish relative crash risk. One inspection can include both types of checks, so the totals must not be added.
Dates and coverage
Source dataset: FMCSA SMS AB PassProperty (4y6x-dmck). Source publication timestamp: 2026-09-13T07:02:59.000Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-10T22:08:28.335Z. The feed uses a rolling 24-month measurement period; its exact measurement cutoff is not supplied here.
Coverage is active interstate and intrastate hazardous-material carriers included in the public passenger/property feed. This is a feed-level analysis, not all U.S. carriers, a SAFER national average, or a census of every inspection.
Method
- For each inspection type, include rows with nonempty counts, a positive inspection denominator, and an out-of-service count between zero and that denominator.
- Sum inspection counts and out-of-service counts independently for driver and vehicle records.
- Divide the out-of-service sum by the inspection sum and multiply by 100. Do not average carrier percentages.
- Report the eligible carrier-record count for each calculation. Missing counts and zero denominators are excluded rather than treated as zero findings.
Download and reproduce
The downloads preserve this analysis’s numbers and dates. They will not change when the source updates. Re-running these queries against the live feed may produce different totals.
Exact official-source aggregate queries
Driver aggregate queryhttps://data.transportation.gov/resource/4y6x-dmck.json?$select=sum(driver_insp_total::number)+as+inspections,sum(driver_oos_insp_total::number)+as+out_of_service,count(*)+as+carrier_records&$where=driver_insp_total+is+not+null+AND+driver_oos_insp_total+is+not+null+AND+driver_insp_total+!=+''+AND+driver_oos_insp_total+!=+''+AND+driver_insp_total::number+>+0+AND+driver_oos_insp_total::number+>=+0+AND+driver_oos_insp_total::number+<=+driver_insp_total::number&$limit=1
Vehicle aggregate queryhttps://data.transportation.gov/resource/4y6x-dmck.json?$select=sum(vehicle_insp_total::number)+as+inspections,sum(vehicle_oos_insp_total::number)+as+out_of_service,count(*)+as+carrier_records&$where=vehicle_insp_total+is+not+null+AND+vehicle_oos_insp_total+is+not+null+AND+vehicle_insp_total+!=+''+AND+vehicle_oos_insp_total+!=+''+AND+vehicle_insp_total::number+>+0+AND+vehicle_oos_insp_total::number+>=+0+AND+vehicle_oos_insp_total::number+<=+vehicle_insp_total::number&$limit=1
Compare inspection-denominator groups in the same source snapshot · Research library
Interpretation limits
Inspection selection is not random. Exposure, operating patterns, enforcement and source revisions affect the counts. An out-of-service finding requires corrective action for the applicable driver or vehicle; it is not necessarily an order against the whole company. These rates do not determine fault, causation or legal liability, and this snapshot alone cannot establish a trend.
Cite this analysis
Truck Safety Research. “Driver and vehicle out-of-service findings in the public SMS feed.” Published October 10, 2026. FMCSA SMS AB PassProperty, retrieved 2026-10-10T22:08:28.335Z. https://trucksafetyresearch.com/research/sms-inspections-2026-10-10. Include the snapshot date when quoting the figures.
Corrections and research questions · Carrier-report methodology · Editorial standards