What Verdica's 813 score means for STAGECOACH WEST INC
Stagecoach West Inc's composite score of 813 out of 850 places the company in the "excellent" band (800–850), indicating strong overall compliance with federal motor carrier safety standards. A score in this range reflects a provider with well-maintained licensing, insurance, and safety records according to FMCSA data. Readers should understand that this score is built on regulatory inspection results and licensing status—not customer satisfaction or service breadth—so it speaks to operational safety and legal standing rather than price, routes, or service quality. The 37-point gap from a perfect score suggests room for minor improvement, but the excellent rating indicates Stagecoach West Inc meets or exceeds the baseline expectations set by federal safety regulators in South Dakota.
How the sub-scores break down
Authority & Insurance (850/850): This perfect sub-score means Stagecoach West Inc holds all required federal operating authority and maintains compliant insurance coverage. In trucking, this is table-stakes; a carrier cannot legally operate without it, so a perfect score simply confirms the company is licensed to operate and properly insured.
Safety Record (845/850): This high score reflects the company's accident, violation, and roadside inspection history. FMCSA compiles data on crashes (fatal, injury, and property-damage-only), out-of-service violations, and safety violations documented during inspections. A score of 845 indicates few or minor infractions relative to fleet size and miles driven. This suggests drivers and vehicle maintenance align with federal safety thresholds.
Inspection History (710/850): This is the lowest of the three sub-scores, though still in the "acceptable" range. Inspection history captures results from roadside safety audits and compliance reviews conducted by FMCSA or state inspectors. Common inspection findings include defects in brakes, lighting, tires, driver logbook violations, or hours-of-service breaches. A score of 710 suggests Stagecoach West Inc has experienced some inspection findings, but none severe enough to warrant an out-of-service order or to drag the overall rating below "excellent." The gap between this score and the safety record score may indicate that while violations have been documented, they have not translated into crashes or serious on-road incidents.
What regulators in SD track for trucking providers
The FMCSA maintains five BASIC (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) that feed into carrier safety profiles:
- Unsafe Driving: speeding, reckless operation, improper lane changes, following too closely.
- Fatigued Driving: hours-of-service violations and logbook falsification.
- Driver Fitness: medical certification lapses, licensing issues, substance abuse violations.
- Controlled Substance/Alcohol: positive drug tests, refusals, or alcohol-related incidents.
- Vehicle Maintenance: brake defects, tire failures, lighting, coupling, and structural defects.
Inspectors conduct compliance reviews (CRs) and roadside inspections across these categories. Out-of-service violations—serious enough to remove a vehicle or driver from operation immediately—are weighted heavily in scoring. Minor findings (equipment violations, paperwork issues) have less impact but accumulate if frequent. A carrier's score improves over time as violations age and are addressed. Verdica's composite score pulls from these FMCSA datasets, normalized to a 0–850 scale for easy comparison.
Bottom line
Stagecoach West Inc scores in the excellent range on federal safety metrics, with perfect licensing and insurance standing and a solid safety record. The inspection history score is the area of relative softness, suggesting the company has faced some routine inspection findings worth monitoring. Business owners or shippers should verify current insurance certificates and ask about any recent safety remediation efforts, but the data does not flag this provider as higher-risk than industry baseline.