DARK HORSE TRANSPORT LLC

DBA: DARK HORSE TRANSPORT

DOT# 708640 MC# 327254 Brayton, IA Authorized For-Hire
(712) 549-2165 bms.dht@metc.net 301 Lincoln St, Brayton IA 50042
7 tractors · all owned 8 drivers 580k mi/yr · ~83k per unit
Not enough record
Graded once the record supports it
29 yrs history · 14 roadside inspections

FMCSA Live Status

Checking FMCSA…

Fleet & equipment

Power units
7
Drivers · CDL
8 · 8
Annual miles
580k
Type Own Term Trip Total
Trucks 0 0 0 0
Tractors 7 0 0 7
Trailers 7 0 0 7

Registration

Organization
CORPORATION
FMCSA Rating
Satisfactory (09-28-2000) · 26 yr old
Registered
10-07-1997 (29 yrs)
MCS-150 Update
04-14-2026 (Biennial Update)
FRED Score Date
Nov 07, 2026
Officer
BETHANY MEESE
Officer
JAMES W MEESE

Cargo

68.3
medium risk
Household Goods Motor Vehicles Drive/Tow Away Metal: Sheets/Coils/Rolls Machinery/Large Objects Oilfield Equipment Meat Refrigerated Food General Freight Logs/Poles/Beams/Lumber Building Materials Fresh Produce Beverages Grain/Feed/Hay Paper Products Construction
High-Risk Cargo
Motor Vehicles, Drive/Tow Away, Machinery Large, Oilfield Equipment, General Freight, Household Goods, Refrigerated Food, Meat

Note: "General Freight" is a catch-all; the actual cargo mix and its risk may differ.

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

Advisory Grade — Outside the Ranked Book

Fleets under 10 power units are graded against their size cohort (pu6_9) for reference, but sit outside the 10+ power-unit underwriting book the FRED rank covers.

Not enough record to grade yet.

14 inspections and 2 crashes on the FMCSA record in 24 months fit anything from an Excellent fleet to a Poor one.

Similar fleets: interstate fleets of 6–9 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 1.5× as often as the median active fleet of 6–9 trucks.

80% likely range 0.51×–2.19×
ExcellentStrongSatisf.MarginalPoorCritical
▲ Similar fleets 1.0×
Expected crashes, next 12 months
0.4 vs 0.3 for similar fleets
Likely 0–1 crashes
This motor carrier
0.4
Similar fleets
0.3

A record this thin can't pin that down: about a 1-in-4 chance it runs at Poor-level crash rates.

Ask
Loss runs for the last 3 years, and confirm the fleet is operating at its filed size (7 power units).
What the record shows
Crash history
betterworse
Higher so far, not yet proven. 2 crashes on the FMCSA record in 24 months (about 1 a year), all 2 with injuries; similar fleets have about 0.3 a year. Too few crashes to be sure, so the grade counts its crash record as about 12% above typical.
Roadside inspections
betterworse
Much worse than peers. Unsafe-driving and hours-of-service violations 3.02× the rate expected for its inspections. Together they move its crash estimate +13%: roadside results weigh far less than crash history.

Worth a closer look

From the FMCSA record. The estimate already counts the safety items; insurance filings and links to other motor carriers are context only.

  • Injury crashes
    2 crashes with 2 people hurt in 24 months.
    Ask: claim status and driver history for these crashes.
Strengths
  • Driver out-of-service rate 0.0% vs 6.7% national.
  • No FMCSA BASIC alerts.
Data flags
  • Dangerous driving: 1

Track record

FMCSA record, Oct 2024 – Jun 2026 · grade scored on Sep 1, 2023 → Sep 30, 2026
Crashes
2
0 fatalities · 2 injuries · 0 tow-aways
Inspections
14
36% clean (no violations)
Vehicle out-of-service
28.6%
2 of 7
National avg 22.3%
Driver out-of-service
0.0%
0 of 14
National avg 6.7%
Violations
17
2 out-of-service

Inspected more often than interstate fleets of 6–9 trucks in Iowa (about 7 in 24 months would be typical).

Inspections per quarter With an out-of-service order
Q4 '24: 2 inspections, 0 out of service 2 Q4 '24 Q1 '25: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q1 '25 Q2 '25: 3 inspections, 0 out of service 3 Q2 '25 Q3 '25: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q3 '25 Q4 '25: 3 inspections, 1 out of service 3 Q4 '25 Q1 '26: 2 inspections, 0 out of service 2 Q1 '26 Q2 '26: 2 inspections, 1 out of service 2 Q2 '26
vs 57,512 peer fleets
This motor carrierPeers
Crashes 0.143 0.043
Inspections 1.79 1.58
Violations 1.21 1.56
Critical violations 0.21 0.29

Yearly rates from the last 24 months. Peers: interstate fleets, Small (advisory) power units, medium-risk cargo.

What they get cited for

17 violations · 24 months
  • Hours of service No alert
    7 · 0 OOS
    Logbook / ELD paperwork 4 · Over hours limit 2 · False log 1
  • Vehicle maintenance No alert
    6 · 2 OOS
    Brakes 3 · Lights 2 · Other parts 1
  • Unsafe driving No alert
    4 · 0 OOS
    Reckless / lane 2 · Speeding 2
  • Driver fitness 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
  • May
    21
    2025
    Nebraska
    Injury · 1 person hurt
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median. Citation issued.
  • Nov
    12
    2024
    Georgia
    Injury · 1 person hurt
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided positive barrier.

Insurance filed with FMCSA

FMCSA record through Nov 2, 2026
Today · live FMCSA check
Checking FMCSA…
Liability (BIPD)
$750,000 · PROGRESSIVE NORTHERN INSURANCE COMPANY
on record since May 4, 2026 · FMCSA minimum $750,000 · no gap on FMCSA's record since Sep 1997
Cargo filing
not required by FMCSA (household-goods motor carriers only); the cargo policy is not on FMCSA's record
36 months to Nov 2, 2026
  • 2 liability insurers on FMCSA's record, 1 change: NORTHLAND INSURANCE COMPANY → PROGRESSIVE NORTHERN INSURANCE COMPANY (May 2026)
  • 3 cancellation notices filed by insurers; 1 took effect (the last Apr 4, 2024, replaced the same day); 2 replaced before they took effect
  • No gap in filed liability coverage while liability was required
Authority
  • FMCSA notices resolved in time: 3

Operating authority active (FMCSA's new registration system, status since Nov 10, 1997)

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
  • Iowa (HQ) 4
  • Missouri 4
  • Georgia 2
  • Minnesota 1
  • Oklahoma 1
  • Tennessee 1
  • Wisconsin 1