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VALIDATED

MERLIN BROD

Trust Score

Excellent Why this score?

Company CheckMERLIN BROD · DOT 170597

DBA: MERLIN BROD TRUCKING

23478 454TH AVE, MADISON, SD, 57042

DOT# 170597 MC# 406956 Madison, South Dakota 25 years

CARRIER

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4

Power Units

3

Drivers

0

Crashes (24-Month)

$750,000

Insurance

Conditional

Safety Rating

0

Inspections

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Company Information

Legal NameMERLIN BROD

DBA NameMERLIN BROD TRUCKING

DOT Number170597

MC Number406956

Entity TypeCarrier

Operating StatusA - Active

LocationMadison, South Dakota

Added06/01/1974

MCS-15008/04/2025

Contact Details

PhoneSign in to view

EmailSign in to view

Physical Address23478 454TH AVE, MADISON, SD, 57042

Mailing Address23478 454TH AVE, MADISON, SD, 57042

Operating Authorities

Authority TypePRIVATE PROPERTY;AUTHORIZED FOR HIRE;EXEMPT FOR HIRE

Carrier OperationA - Interstate

DocketMC406956

CommonNot Active

ContractActive

BrokerNot Active

Operating25 years

Operation Classification

Authorized For HireExempt For HirePrivate (Property)

SMS BASIC Scores

FMCSA safety categories, last 24 months. Above Cutoff = FMCSA flags a problem · Below cutoff = within limits · Clean = no violations.

Unsafe Driving

measure 0 · 0 insp with violations

Clean

Hours-of-Service Compliance

measure 0 · 0 insp with violations

Clean

Driver Fitness

measure 0 · 0 insp with violations

Clean

Controlled Substances / Alcohol

measure 0 · 0 insp with violations

Clean

Vehicle Maintenance

measure 0 · 0 insp with violations

Clean

Source: FMCSA SMS, updated monthly.

Mileage

Annual Mileage27,000 miles

Mileage Year2024

VMT SourceMCS-150 Form

Drivers

3

Interstate

0

Intrastate

0

CDL

3

Total

Interstate >100mi0

Interstate <100mi0

Intrastate >100mi0

Intrastate <100mi0

Safety Summary

Safety RatingConditional

Total Crashes (24-mo)0

Fatal0

Driver OOS0.0% avg 5.5%

Vehicle OOS0.0% avg 20.7%

SmartWay PartnerNo

Last Review10/07/2005

Insurance

Amount$750,000

Type91X

VerifiedFMCSA · 07/24/2026

CompanyGREAT WEST CASUALTY CO.

Policy #CLP02813J

Last checked09/08/2026

Quick Facts

StatusActive

TypeCarrier

Fleet4 units

Drivers3

Mileage27,000 mi

Operating25 years

MCS-15008/2025

Safety & Inspection Data

Crash Summary

Total Crashes (24-mo)0

Fatal0

Injury0

Tow-Away0

Safety RatingConditional

Driver Inspections

Total0

Out of Service0

OOS Rate0.0%

National Avg5.5%

Vehicle Inspections

Total0

Out of Service0

OOS Rate0.0%

National Avg20.7%

Last FMCSA Review: 10/07/2005 | Rated: 12/13/2005

Licensing & Insurance

Form	Type	Insurance Company	Policy	Coverage	Effective	Cancel Date	Method
91X	BIPD/Primary	GREAT WEST CASUALTY CO.	CLP02813J	$750,000	11/03/2008	08/22/2025	Cancelled
91X	BIPD/Primary	GREAT WEST CASUALTY CO.	CLP02813J	$750,000	05/01/2001	11/03/2008	Replaced

No active insurance policies.

Docket	Type	Action	Served	Disposition	Disp Date
MC406956	CONTRACT	INVOLUNTARY REVOCATION	07/28/2025	DISCONTINUED REVOCATION	08/05/2025
MC406956	MOTOR PROPERTY CONTRACT CARRIER	GRANTED	05/16/2001	-	-

No revocation records.

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86/100

Excellent

VERIFIED

Every carrier starts at 100. We subtract points for each missing requirement or risk factor below. Verified means all four core requirements pass.

Score breakdown, from 100 to 86

86

−12

Starts at 100−14 totalFinal 86

Conditional safety rating−12

No email address on file−2

Verification, 4 core requirements

Active operating authority

FMCSA shows the USDOT registration and authority are active.

Authorized for hire

Holds active for-hire (common or contract) authority.

Active insurance on file

Insurance coverage and carrier are on file with FMCSA.

Safety rating not Unsatisfactory

Conditional rating (acceptable, but not Unsatisfactory).

What's lowering this score

-12

Conditional safety rating

FMCSA assigned a Conditional safety rating.

-2

No email address on file

No public email address on record.

How we calculate the Trust Score

Every company starts at 100

We subtract points for each missing requirement or risk factor. Verified means all the core requirements for that company's type pass. Nothing is added back, the score is a deduction model built only on public FMCSA data. No pay-to-play, no opinions.

Requirements differ by company type

Each company is judged fairly on its own FMCSA obligations. Anything that doesn't apply shows as a grey N/A, not required, never a penalty.

Carrier (for-hire)

Operating authority, authorized-for-hire, insurance on file, safety rating.

Broker

Broker authority + $75k surety bond (BMC-84/85). MCS-150 not required (no fleet).

Freight forwarder

FF authority + $75k bond + BOC-3. MCS-150 not required (no trucks).

Private carrier

Active USDOT + MCS-150 + safety. No operating authority / for-hire / insurance filing required (hauls its own goods).

Crashes are scaled, not flat

Crash history is proportional. We don't apply a flat penalty, we scale it to (a) crashes per vehicle in the fleet and (b) the share of those crashes that were fatal. So a big, safe fleet barely moves; a small fleet with many (and fatal) crashes takes a large hit.

0 pts deductedscaled by rate & severityup to −28 pts

Low end

50,000 vehicles + 1 crash → ~0 pts. A huge fleet with very few crashes per vehicle is almost untouched.

High end

5 vehicles + 3 crashes incl. fatal → large deduction (near the −28 cap). Many crashes per truck, fatal-heavy.

Mechanics: deduction is capped at 28 points, weighted roughly 60% on crashes-per-vehicle and 40% on the fatal ratio. Zero crashes = zero deduction. If fleet size is unknown, only crash severity can move the score (conservative).

Out-of-service rate vs. the national average

Driver and vehicle out-of-service rates are measured against the FMCSA national average, not a flat number. A company only takes the deduction when it sits above the national benchmark, for example “Vehicle OOS 37% vs national avg 20.7%”.

Point reference, the full menu

Every factor and exactly how many points it can remove. Knockout factors (they also fail Verification) are marked.

Factor	Points
USDOT / authority not active with FMCSA knockout	−25
Missing operating authority (when required) knockout	−15
No insurance or surety bond on file (when required) knockout	−25
Unsatisfactory safety rating knockout	−30
Conditional safety rating	−12
MCS-150 biennial update overdue (carriers)	−10
Crashes, rate-adjusted (per-vehicle & fatal share)	0 to −28
Driver OOS rate above national average	−5
Vehicle OOS rate above national average	−5
Very new carrier (under 1 year)	−10
Limited operating history (1-3 years)	−6
Moderate operating history (3-5 years)	−3
Operating history unknown	−3
No public phone number	−3
No public email address	−2

All inputs come from public FMCSA records (operating authority, insurance/bond filings, the SAFER/SMS safety profile, crash & inspection reports). If FMCSA updates a record, the score updates with it. For the full deduction table, see the methodology page.

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