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Motor Carrier Safety Report
DOT #494524 · CANDIDO'S INC
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CANDIDO'S INC

DBA: CANDIDO'S TOW & REPAIR

DOT# 494524 MC# 411137 DUNS# 1484798 Somerset, KY Authorized For-Hire
(606) 679-9077 paul@candidostowing.com 722 East Mt Vernon St, Somerset KY 42501
52 power units · all owned 48 drivers
HazMat Intrastate Only
Marginal
FRED Score 30.0 / 100
Moderate confidence
34 yrs history · 23 roadside inspections

FMCSA Live Status

Checking FMCSA…

Fleet & equipment

Power units
52
Drivers · CDL
48 · 26
Annual miles
835k unreliable
Type Own Term Trip Total
Trucks 50 0 0 50
Tractors 2 0 0 2
Trailers 2 0 0 2

Registration

Organization
CORPORATION
FMCSA Rating
Conditional (05-18-2002)historical — superseded by active authority (reviewed 24 yr ago)
Registered
08-13-1992 (34 yrs)
MCS-150 Update
02-05-2026 (Biennial Update)
FRED Score Date
Nov 08, 2026
Officer
JOSEPH F CANDIDO III

Cargo

73.0
high risk
Motor Vehicles Drive/Tow Away Machinery/Large Objects Other: TOWING SERVICE
High-Risk Cargo
Motor Vehicles, Drive/Tow Away, Machinery Large

Estimated from the commodity types reported to FMCSA, not from loss history or the true cargo mix.

Mileage Unreliable

MCS-150 annual mileage appears too low for fleet size given observed activity. The per-100k-mile rate benchmarks on this page are excluded; the FRED grade does not use mileage (crash exposure is power-unit-years, violation exposure is inspection counts).

Intrastate operation

Runs within one state. Roadside inspections are rarer for intrastate fleets than for interstate ones, so this record rests mainly on crash reports, which states file for intrastate trucks too.

Expected crash rate is probably higher than similar fleets (about a 90% chance), but the record is too thin to say by how much.

Similar fleets: interstate fleets of 50–99 trucks with the same kind of operation, years in business and amount of road activity. Compared using its own crash record and roadside inspections.

Per truck, fleets like this one are expected to crash about 0.5× as often as the median active fleet of 50–99 trucks.

This motor carrier 1.82×
ExcellentStrongSatisf.MarginalPoorCritical
▲ Similar fleets 1.0×
Leaning Poor. Its estimate (1.82× similar fleets) is in the Poor range, but the record isn't strong enough to be 60% sure it is above the Poor line (1.57×), so the grade stays Marginal.
Expected crashes, next 12 months
2.1 vs 1.2 for similar fleets
Likely 0–5 crashes
This motor carrier
2.1
Similar fleets
1.2
Chance of a fatal crash, next 12 months
~6%
About 1.8× similar fleets.
What's driving the grade
Crash history
betterworse
Much worse than peers. 6 crashes on the FMCSA record in 24 months (about 3 a year), including 1 fatal (1 death) and 2 with injuries; similar fleets have about 1.2 a year. The grade counts 8 crashes in its 36-month scoring window, recent ones weighted most.
Roadside inspections
betterworse
Better than peers. Violations 0.63× the rate expected for its inspections. Together they move its crash estimate -6%: roadside results weigh far less than crash history.

Worth a closer look

From the FMCSA record. The grade already counts the safety items; insurance filings and links to other motor carriers are not in it.

  • Fatal crash
    1 crash with 1 fatality in 24 months (most recent Jul 30, 2026).
    Ask: the accident register and loss runs for these crashes.
  • Injury crashes
    2 crashes with 4 people hurt in 24 months.
    Ask: claim status and driver history for these crashes.
  • Driver qualification
    1 out-of-service violation against drivers: 1 no valid CDL (Oct 2024).
    Ask: driver qualification files and hiring standards.
  • Lights and cargo securement
    Lights are 6 of 15 violations (40%). Light or cargo securement defects led to 4 out-of-service orders.
    Ask: the preventive-maintenance schedule and shop records.
Strengths
  • Driver out-of-service rate 4.5% vs 6.7% national.
  • No FMCSA BASIC alerts.
Data flags
  • Unreliable reported mileage
    The motor carrier's self-reported annual mileage (MCS-150) looks implausible, so exposure- and mileage-based figures may be distorted.
  • Estimated mileage
    No usable mileage was reported, so exposure was estimated from similar motor carriers. Mileage-based metrics here are approximate.
  • Historical FMCSA safety rating
    FMCSA once rated this motor carrier Conditional or Unsatisfactory, but the rating is stale or superseded — the motor carrier still holds active operating authority (a current Unsatisfactory would have it revoked), so it does not reflect current standing. Shown for context, not as a current finding.

Track record

FMCSA record, Oct 2024 – Aug 2026 · grade scored on Oct 1, 2023 → Oct 31, 2026
Crashes
6
1 fatality · 4 injuries · 0 tow-aways
Inspections
23
56% clean (no violations)
Vehicle out-of-service
23.5%
4 of 17
National avg 22.3%
Driver out-of-service
4.5%
1 of 22
National avg 6.7%
Violations
15
7 out-of-service

Inspected less often than interstate fleets of 50–99 trucks in Kentucky (about 51 in 24 months would be typical).

Inspections per quarter With an out-of-service order
Q4 '24: 6 inspections, 1 out of service 6 Q4 '24 Q1 '25: 5 inspections, 1 out of service 5 Q1 '25 Q2 '25: 0 inspections, 0 out of service 0 Q2 '25 Q3 '25: 2 inspections, 1 out of service 2 Q3 '25 Q4 '25: 2 inspections, 0 out of service 2 Q4 '25 Q1 '26: 4 inspections, 1 out of service 4 Q1 '26 Q2 '26: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q2 '26 Q3 '26: 3 inspections, 0 out of service 3 Q3 '26
vs 236 peer fleets
This motor carrierPeers
Crashes 0.058 0.028
Inspections 0.29 0.85
Violations 0.14 0.52
Critical violations 0.04 0.11

Yearly rates from the last 24 months. Peers: interstate fleets, 50–99 power units, high-risk cargo.

What they get cited for

15 violations · 24 months
  • Vehicle maintenance No alert
    10 · 6 OOS
    Lights 6 · Cargo securement 1 · Tires 1 · Wheels & hubs 1 · Other parts 1
  • Unsafe driving No alert
    3 · 0 OOS
    Reckless / lane 1 · Seat belt 1 · Speeding 1
  • Driver fitness No alert
    2 · 1 OOS
    No valid CDL 2
  • Hours of service No alert
    0
  • Drugs & alcohol No alert
    0
Out-of-service violations “No alert” = under FMCSA's BASIC intervention threshold

Violations by quarter

Tap a category to show or hide it
No violation trend data

Crashes

24 months
  • Aug
    12
    2026
    Kentucky
    Property damage only
    Wet road, daylight, rain, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Jul
    30
    2026
    Kentucky
    Fatal · 1 death
    Dark - lighted, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
    In the news
    1 dead after crashing into tow truck on I-71 N in Oldham County
    WDRB · Jul 31, 2026

    Why this link: FMCSA crash report KY0073357929 (Oldham County Police Dept.) lists CANDIDO'S INC’s truck in this crash. This third-party news report covers a crash with the same date, place and number of deaths, matched automatically. It may not name CANDIDO'S INC and doesn't establish fault. Wrong article?

  • Dec
    22
    2025
    Kentucky
    Injury · 1 person hurt
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Sep
    9
    2025
    Kentucky
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Aug
    11
    2025
    Kentucky
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Feb
    11
    2025
    Kentucky
    Injury · 3 people hurt
    Wet road, daylight, rain, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.

About “In the news”: these links go to third-party news reports that FRED Score matched automatically to FMCSA crash records — same date and place, with a truck or bus involved, and the same number of deaths or, for a crash that released hazardous materials, the release — and checked a second time before showing. A link doesn't mean this motor carrier caused the crash: FMCSA crash reports don't assign fault, and news coverage can be incomplete or wrong. FRED Score doesn't verify or endorse what the articles say.

Insurance filed with FMCSA

FMCSA record through May 14, 2026 · no change recorded by FMCSA since
Today · live FMCSA check
Checking FMCSA…
Last on FMCSA's record (May 14, 2026)
$1,000,000 · NATIONAL INTERSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY
on record since Oct 11, 2024 · FMCSA minimum $750,000 · no gap on FMCSA's record since Oct 2000
Cargo filing
not required by FMCSA (household-goods motor carriers only); the cargo policy is not on FMCSA's record
36 months to May 14, 2026
  • 3 liability insurers on FMCSA's record, 2 changes: ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY → NATIONAL INTERSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY (Oct 2024); AMGUARD INSURANCE COMPANY → ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY (Oct 2023)
  • 1 cancellation notice filed by an insurer; 1 took effect (the last Oct 11, 2024, replaced the same day)
  • No gap in filed liability coverage while liability was required
Authority
  • FMCSA notice resolved in time: 1

Operating authority active (FMCSA's L&I record of May 14, 2026, status since Oct 10, 2024)

Who insures fleets like this →

FMCSA filings only, not a policy audit. Not part of the FRED grade. Wrong or out of date?

Where it happens

Loading map data…
Inspections by state
  • Kentucky (HQ) 15
  • Tennessee 6
  • Georgia 1
  • Ohio 1

65% of inspections were in its home state.

Data sourced from FMCSA. The FRED Score is an analytical opinion and is not an FMCSA safety rating. Unless a motor carrier has received an Unsatisfactory safety rating under 49 CFR Part 385 or has otherwise been ordered to discontinue operations by FMCSA, it is authorized to operate. This information is provided for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for any decision. Report generated · fred-score.com/carrier/494524