Nearly one in five commercial trucks currently on U.S. roads fails to meet basic roadworthiness standards – a metric that stands as the #1 predictor of fatal accidents.
As the freight cycle recovers and utilization rises, the industry is confronting a massive accumulation of deferred maintenance from the prolonged freight recession of 2022–2026
During that time, a squeeze on carrier margins forced widespread deferral of equipment upkeep. As high-frequency data confirms, that risk is now coming back online. This maintenance crisis is showing up clearly in enforcement data.
High-frequency SONAR indices, including the ELP Enforcement Index, track a tightening regulatory environment. The current Vehicle Out-of-Service (OOS) rate has hit 21.6% across 3.3 million inspections, resulting in over 700,000 vehicles being removed from the road annually. The risk is compounded by an enforcement lag.