The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ordered U & D Service (DOT# 2157887), Inc. of Indianapolis, Ind., to cease operations after repeated violations of federal law, including the following:
- Ten citations for exceeding vehicle weight limits (49 C.F.R. § 392.2);
- Eight citations for exceeding tire weight limits (49 C.F.R. § 393.75(f));
- Twelve citations for truck drivers lacking a required commercial driver’s license (49 C.F.R. § 383.23); and
- 21 citations for English proficiency violations (49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(2)).
The FMSCA order states:
The United States finds your commercial motor vehicle operations constitute an imminent hazard. This finding means that based upon your present state of unacceptable safety compliance, your operation of any commercial motor vehicles poses an imminent hazard to public safety. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, YOU MUST CEASE ALL COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATIONS, INCLUDING ALL INTERSTATE OR INTRASTATE TRANSPORTATION FROM ALL DISPATCHING LOCATIONS OR TERMINALS.
In response to the FMCSA order, Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood stated, “Safety is the U.S. Department of Transportation’s highest priority. We are committed to aggressively removing from our roads unsafe truck companies that place the traveling public at risk.”
It is good to know that FMCSA is taking action to remove unsafe truck companies from the roads. But for every company that is ordered to cease operations, there are several more violating rules and still operating. Many times it takes an accident involving serious personal injury or wrongful death to call attention to a company’s safety problems.
When our attorneys represent clients, they always look at the company’s history of safety violations. If they can prove a pattern of violations, there may be a claim for punitive damages (an amount of money meant to punish the company).
If you or a family member has been hit by a tractor trailer, contact our lawyers at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form. If you hire our law firm, you will not have to pay for my representation unless we win your case.