Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule Of Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense consisted of the following (in thousands):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011
Current:
Federal	$	55,227		$	69,590		$	6,275
State	6,616			10,088			6,664
Foreign	1,472			(478		)	1,347
	63,315			79,200			14,286
Deferred:
Federal	(9,668		)	(8,630		)	50,297
State	1,279			(438		)	7,566
	(8,389		)	(9,068		)	57,863
Total income tax expense	$	54,926		$	70,132		$	72,149

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation

The effective income tax rate differs from the federal corporate tax rate of 35% in 2013, 2012 and 2011 as follows (in thousands):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011
Tax at statutory rate	$	49,599		$	60,608		$	61,217
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefits	5,132			6,273			9,250
Non-deductible meals and entertainment	1,577			2,686			2,571
Income tax credits	(1,574		)	(758		)	(1,517		)
Other, net	192			1,323			628
Total income tax expense	$	54,926		$	70,132		$	72,149

Schedule Of Deferred Tax Assets And Liabilities

At December 31, deferred tax assets and liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2013		2012
Deferred tax assets:
Insurance and claims accruals	$	76,596	$	73,211
Allowance for uncollectible accounts	5,672		7,813
Other	8,437		9,416
Gross deferred tax assets	90,705		90,440
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property and equipment	282,642		288,032
Prepaid expenses	6,906		6,774
Other	3,079		3,026
Gross deferred tax liabilities	292,627		297,832
Net deferred tax liability	$	201,922	$	207,392

Schedule Of Income Tax Assets And Liabilities Financial Position

These amounts are presented in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31 as follows (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2013		2012
Current deferred tax asset	$	25,315	$	25,139
Non-current deferred tax liability	227,237		232,531
Net deferred tax liability	$	201,922	$	207,392

Reconciliation Of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

The reconciliations of beginning and ending gross balances of unrecognized tax benefits for 2013 and 2012 are shown below (in thousands).

	December 31,
	2013			2012
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning balance	$	11,563		$	10,827
Gross increases – tax positions in prior period	286			279
Gross increases – current-period tax positions	742			788
Settlements	(3,947		)	(331		)
Unrecognized tax benefits, ending balance	$	8,644		$	11,563