GAETA RECYCLING COMPANY INC

DOT# 771841 Paterson, NJ Authorized For-Hire / Exempt For-Hire / Private Property
(973) 278-6625 mikep@gaetarecycling.com 278 West Railway Ave, Paterson NJ 07503
111 power units · all owned 104 drivers
Marginal
FRED Score 30.0 / 100
Low confidence
28 yrs history · 10 roadside inspections

FMCSA Live Status

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Fleet & equipment

Power units
111
Drivers · CDL
104 · 90
Annual miles
1.6M unreliable
Type Own Term Trip Total
Trucks 98 0 0 98
Tractors 13 0 0 13
Trailers 17 0 0 17

Registration

Registered
09-17-1998 (28 yrs)
MCS-150 Update
02-05-2026 (Biennial Update)
FRED Score Date
Nov 08, 2026
Officer
MICHAEL PORTANNESE

Cargo

24.2
minimal risk
Building Materials Paper Products Construction Garbage/Refuse

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

Exposure Unverified

The expected crashes behind this grade assume the filed fleet of 111 power units is real, but the roadside record corroborates little of it — 13 units seen in 24 months, 0.05 inspections per filed unit-year. The grade's relativity to class is unchanged; its confidence tier is cut to reflect the unverified exposure, and until the fleet is confirmed an Excellent grade shows as Strong and a Strong as Satisfactory. Verify the fleet size before relying on the crash expectation.

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).

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 100–199 trucks with the same kind of operation, years in business and amount of road activity. Compared using its own crash record and roadside inspections.

This motor carrier 1.67×
ExcellentStrongSatisf.MarginalPoorCritical
▲ Similar fleets 1.0×
Leaning Poor. Its estimate (1.67× 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
3.1 vs 1.9 for similar fleets
Likely 1–6 crashes
This motor carrier
3.1
Similar fleets
1.9
Chance of a fatal crash, next 12 months
~8%
About 1.7× similar fleets.
What's driving the grade
Crash history
betterworse
Leans worse, not yet proven. 8 crashes on the FMCSA record in 24 months (about 4 a year), including 4 with injuries; similar fleets have about 1.9 a year. The grade counts 15 crashes in its 36-month scoring window, recent ones weighted most.
Roadside inspections
betterworse
Worse than peers. Out-of-service orders 1.53×, unsafe-driving and hours-of-service violations 1.53× and violations 1.42× the rate expected for its inspections. Together they move its crash estimate +12%: 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.

  • Injury crashes
    4 crashes with 7 people hurt in 24 months.
    Ask: claim status and driver history for these crashes.
  • Filed fleet not seen on the road
    Only 13 of the 111 filed power units were seen at a roadside inspection in 24 months (10 inspections in all). The crash expectation behind the grade assumes all 111 are running.
    Ask: how many trucks are actually operating, with the vehicle schedule (the MCS-150 was last updated Feb 2026).
Strengths
  • Driver out-of-service rate 0.0% vs 6.7% national.
  • No FMCSA BASIC alerts.
Data flags
  • Dangerous driving: 1
  • 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.

Track record

FMCSA record, Nov 2024 – Feb 2026 · grade scored on Oct 1, 2023 → Oct 31, 2026
Crashes
8
0 fatalities · 7 injuries · 0 tow-aways
Inspections
10
40% clean (no violations)
Vehicle out-of-service
60.0%
3 of 5
National avg 22.3%
Driver out-of-service
0.0%
0 of 10
National avg 6.7%
Violations
10
2 out-of-service

Inspected less often than interstate fleets of 100–199 trucks in New Jersey (about 96 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: 4 inspections, 2 out of service 4 Q1 '25 Q2 '25: 0 inspections, 0 out of service 0 Q2 '25 Q3 '25: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q3 '25 Q4 '25: 2 inspections, 1 out of service 2 Q4 '25 Q1 '26: 1 inspections, 0 out of service 1 Q1 '26
vs 64 peer fleets
This motor carrierPeers
Crashes 0.032 0.021
Inspections 0.09 0.55
Violations 0.04 0.23
Critical violations 0.01 0.04

Yearly rates from the last 24 months. Peers: interstate fleets, 100–199 power units, minimal-risk cargo.

What they get cited for

10 violations · 24 months
  • Vehicle maintenance No alert
    5 · 2 OOS
    Cargo securement 2 · Lights 2 · Other parts 1
  • Unsafe driving No alert
    3 · 0 OOS
    Seat belt 2 · Reckless / lane 1
  • Driver fitness No alert
    2 · 0 OOS
    Medical certificate 1 · No valid CDL 1
  • 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

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No violation trend data

Crashes

24 months
  • Jun
    22
    2026
    New Jersey
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Feb
    3
    2026
    New Jersey
    Injury · 1 person hurt
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Dec
    24
    2025
    New Jersey
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Dec
    11
    2025
    New Jersey
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Aug
    22
    2025
    New Jersey
    Injury · 1 person hurt
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided unprotected median.
  • Mar
    20
    2025
    New Jersey
    Injury · 4 people hurt
    Wet road, dark - lighted, rain, two-way trafficway not divided.
  • Jan
    21
    2025
    New Jersey
    Property damage only
    Daylight, two-way trafficway divided positive barrier.
  • Oct
    17
    2024
    New Jersey
    Injury · 1 person hurt
    Daylight, two-way trafficway not divided.

Insurance filed with FMCSA

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No MC, FF or MX docket on FMCSA's registration for this motor carrier, so there are no insurance filings to show. FMCSA collects filings only from registered for-hire authorities; other motor carriers keep proof of insurance (MCS-90) at their place of business.

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

Where it happens

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Inspections by state
  • New Jersey (HQ) 9
  • New York 1