DESERT EXPRESS TRANSPORTATION LINES INC
USDOT 1360391MC-Docket MC521336SALINAS, CA
Review before tendering8 power units
DESERT EXPRESS TRANSPORTATION LINES INC (USDOT 1360391) in SALINAS, CA — has findings to review before tendering. FMCSA authority, fleet size, BASIC safety measures, crash and inspection history.
- Has active operating authority that's tenderable today (common or contract).
- No pending authority revocation.
- Not under an uncleared federal out-of-service or safety action.
- BIPD on file is $750,000 — below your $1,000,000 floor (federal general-freight minimum is $750,000).
- No cargo insurance on file. Required for many shipper contracts.
- 1 prior insurance lapse(s) on record, most recent began 2010-10-15 — the carrier let required coverage lapse before.
- Satisfactory safety rating.
- No BASIC alerts in any of the five public SMS categories.
- Vehicle out-of-service rate is above the national roadside average.
- No preventable crashes in the last 24 months; recordable crash rate 0 not elevated.
- No fatal crashes in the last 24 months.
- No link to a prior revoked authority.
- Authority involuntarily revoked 13 times, most recent 2019-11-04 — recurring instability (typically insurance-lapse / reinstate cycles).
- FMCSA compliance review on file dated 2009-04-28 (C).
- Crash Indicator and Hazmat Compliance BASICs are statutorily withheld from public SMS under the FAST Act — their absence is not a clean record; use the crash-risk signals above instead.
Built from FMCSA's public Safety Management System data — guidance, not legal advice. Verify directly with the carrier and your cargo policy before tendering.
Authority
- Common authority
- Not applicable
- Contract authority
- Active
Safety & BASIC scorecard
BASIC safety measures
Unsafe driving
No alert
measure 0.51
Hours of service
No alert
measure 0.61
Driver fitness
No alert
measure 0
Controlled substance
No alert
measure 0
Vehicle maintenance
No alert
measure 5.65
Under the FAST Act, FMCSA publishes an absolute per-category measure (not a 0–100 percentile) for these five BASICs — the alert flag, not the raw number, is the risk signal. The Crash Indicator and Hazmat Compliance BASICs are statutorily withheld from public view.
Last 24 months
0
Fatalities
0
Injuries
0
Crashes
19
Inspections
5
OOS inspections
5
OOS violations
Insurance
- BIPD on file
- $750,000 below $1M baseline
- Cargo insurance
- No
- Bond on file
- No
Fleet
- Power units
- 8
- Total drivers
- 7
- Years in business
- 21
- Hazmat authority
- No
Crash risk
- Preventable crashes (24 mo)
- 0 of 0 total crash(es)
- Recordable crash rate
- 0
- Driver OOS rate
- 4.8%
- Vehicle OOS rate
- 25%Above national
The official Crash Indicator BASIC is withheld from public SMS under the FAST Act — these derived signals stand in for it; their absence is not a clean record.
Compliance & history
- Reincarnation / chameleon
- No prior revoked authority
- Involuntary revocations
- 13 times last 2019-11-04
- Physical address
- No address flags
- Federal OOS / safety action
- None on file
- MCS-150 self-report
- 2026-05-07
- Insurance lapse history
- 1 lapse(s) most recent 2010-10-15
- Last compliance review
- 2009-04-28 · C
Inspection history (all-time)
31
Inspections
7
OOS inspections
41
Violations
10
OOS violations
0
Post-accident
Record spans 2023-07-10 → 2026-05-19.
Crash history (last 24 months)
No crashes recorded in the last 24 months.
Violation pattern (all-time, by area)
| Area (49 CFR part) | Violations | Out of service | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|
Vehicle parts & maintenance 393
|
17 | 3 | 2026-05-19 |
Unsafe driving 392
|
11 | 0 | 2026-03-26 |
Vehicle inspection & repair 396
|
8 | 6 | 2026-05-19 |
Hours of service 395
|
5 | 1 | 2025-09-25 |
Recent violations (last 24 months, worst first)
| Date | Category | Violation | OOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-26 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - Hose/tubing damaged or not secured | — |
| 2026-01-05 | Vehicle Maintenance | Steering - Loose nuts on tie rods/pitman arm/drag link/steering arm/tie rod | OOS |
| 2026-01-05 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - Hose/tubing damaged or not secured | — |
| 2025-12-31 | Vehicle Maintenance | Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS | OOS |
| 2025-12-31 | Vehicle Maintenance | Tires - Less than 2/32 inch tread depth | — |
| 2025-12-31 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lighting - Headlamp(s) - Any inoperative | — |
| 2025-11-19 | Vehicle Maintenance | Drum Brake - Inadequate lining/pad thickness | — |
| 2025-11-19 | Vehicle Maintenance | Brake - Defective brake(s) are equal to or greater than 20% of the service brakes on the vehicle/combination | OOS |
| 2025-09-25 | Hours-of-Service Compliance | HOS (Property) - No driver may make a false report in connection with a duty status. Explain | — |
| 2025-09-25 | Vehicle Maintenance | Washers - Inoperative washing system. | — |
| 2025-05-15 | Vehicle Maintenance | Lubrication - Oil or grease leak | — |
| 2025-01-09 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Brake - Hose/tubing damaged or not secured | — |
| 2024-11-12 | Vehicle Maintenance | Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS | OOS |
| 2024-11-12 | Vehicle Maintenance | Air Disc Brake - Lining/pad thickness less than 1/16 inch | — |
| 2024-08-18 | Hours-of-Service Compliance | HOS (ELD) - A portable ELD is not mounted in a fixed position and visible to the driver when seated in the normal drivin | — |
| 2024-08-13 | Hours-of-Service Compliance | ELD - No record of duty status (ELD Required) | OOS |
| 2024-05-18 | Unsafe Driving | State/Local Laws - Speeding 6-10 miles per hour over the speed limit | — |
Recent inspections (with violations, newest first)
Showing the 20 most-recent inspections that had violations. Clean inspections aren't listed here — they're counted in the all-time inspection totals above.
2026-05-19 5 viols· 4 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A1-TFSMF | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47D2-BLTBD | — | — |
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 5B-HWSL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 5B-HWSL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 3A1-BOS | OOS | — |
2026-03-26 2 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLEQP | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45B2-B-AIR | — | — |
2026-01-05 2 viols· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 3A1-STLN | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45B2-B-AIR | — | — |
2025-12-31 5 viols· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 9A-LHLI | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A3-TAOL | OOS | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75C-TAOTD-LT2/32 | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75C-TAOTD-LT2/32 | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75C-TAOTD-LT2/32 | — | — |
2025-11-19 3 viols· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47D2-BLTBD | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47D2-BLTBD | — | — |
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 3A1-BOS | OOS | — |
2025-09-25 3 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 78A-WS | — | — |
| Hours of service 395 | 8E-HOSPD | — | — |
| Hours of service 395 | 8E-HOSPD | — | — |
2025-08-14 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLEWA1 | — | — |
2025-05-22 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLEWA2 | — | — |
2025-05-15 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 5B-L | — | — |
2025-01-23 2 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLEQP | — | — |
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2-SLLSR | — | — |
2025-01-09 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 45B2-B | — | — |
2024-11-12 2 viols· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 47D2-BLT-1/16AD | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75A3-TAOL | OOS | — |
2024-08-18 2 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
| Hours of service 395 | 22(g) | — | — |
2024-08-13 1 viol· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours of service 395 | 8(a)(1) | OOS | — |
2024-05-18 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
2024-04-10 1 viol
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
2024-02-05 2 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
2023-11-27 1 viol· 1 OOS
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 5(b) | OOS | — |
2023-09-26 2 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsafe driving 392 | 2 | — | — |
| Hours of service 395 | 24(d) | — | — |
2023-07-10 3 viols
| Area (part) | Section | OOS | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle inspection & repair 396 | 3(a)(1) | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75(c) | — | — |
| Vehicle parts & maintenance 393 | 75(c) | — | — |
Verify on FMCSA
FMCSA is the system of record. One click through to the official source.