What Verdica's 819 score means for GREYHOUND LINES INC
Greyhound Lines Inc's composite score of 819 out of 850 places the carrier in the "excellent" band (800–850), indicating strong overall compliance posture relative to federal trucking standards. This score is constructed from three regulatory dimensions tracked by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA): authority and insurance, safety record, and inspection history. A score in this range suggests the carrier meets or exceeds baseline safety and operational requirements across multiple compliance areas. For a business evaluator or shipper, an 819 score signals lower regulatory risk compared to carriers in acceptable or elevated risk bands. However, the composite score masks variation in sub-dimensions—notably, the inspection history sub-score of 735 is materially lower than the other two—which warrants individual attention before finalizing a partnership.
How the sub-scores break down
Authority & Insurance (850/850): This perfect sub-score indicates Greyhound holds valid FMCSA operating authority and maintains required liability and cargo insurance at or above minimum thresholds set by federal regulation. In the trucking industry, lapses in active authority or insurance violations are serious red flags; a maximal score here confirms the carrier has cleared those baseline gates.
Safety Record (845/850): This sub-score reflects the carrier's performance on FMCSA's BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) metrics, which measure crash involvement, hazardous materials violations, unsafe driving, and fatigued driving indicators. An 845 indicates the carrier's safety performance is well above the national median for like-sized operators. This does not mean zero incidents, but rather that incident rates and severity are low relative to peers.
Inspection History (735/850): This dimension captures roadside and facility inspection results conducted by FMCSA or state officers. A score of 735 falls in the "acceptable" band and is notably lower than the other two sub-scores. This suggests the carrier has accumulated some documented compliance issues during inspections—such as maintenance defects, record-keeping infractions, or driver qualification file discrepancies—that have been recorded but not severe enough to trigger out-of-service orders or revocation actions.
What regulators in TX track for trucking providers
FMCSA safety inspections examine vehicle mechanical fitness (brakes, tires, lighting, coupling devices), driver documentation (licenses, medical certificates, hours-of-service logs), and cargo securement. BASIC scores aggregate violations over a rolling period and flag carriers whose incident or infraction rates exceed percentile thresholds in specific categories. In Texas, state inspectors conduct roadside inspections under the same federal safety standards, and results feed into the national FMCSA database.
Carriers can move up in inspection scores by reducing cited defects, maintaining detailed maintenance records, ensuring driver compliance with federal regulations, and addressing any serious violations promptly. Scores move down when inspections find recurring issues—such as repeated brake violations, falsified logs, or overweight loads—or when crash or safety incidents accumulate. A carrier's score is dynamic; it reflects performance over time and can improve or decline based on operational changes.
Bottom line
Greyhound Lines Inc's 819 composite score reflects strong compliance across two critical dimensions and acceptable performance on inspection history. The carrier is a lower-risk choice relative to providers in elevated or high-risk bands, though the inspection history sub-score warrants a closer look at recent violations or defect patterns before contract execution. Any shipper or business partner should request the carrier's current FMCSA safety profile and recent inspection records to understand the nature and recency of any cited issues.