Yesterday, the FMCSA announced it has shut down uncooperative Atlanta trucking company Southern Transportation, Inc.
According to a statement released by the FMCSA, Southern Transportation stopped cooperating with the FMCSA’s investigators last week and failed to provide the agency with copies of the company’s safety records.
Under the provisions in MAP-21, the FMCSA may place carriers out of service if they refuse to comply with a letter demanding the release of company safety records.
Last week, the FMCSA ordered a trucking company out of service for operating out of the same location, with the same business model as Southern Transportation. The FMCSA found the carrier General Transportation, Inc. to be an imminent hazard to safety.
During the investigation, the FMCSA found that Southern Transportation does not monitor its drivers HOS and does not require its drivers to do so.
Additionally, the FMCSA found that Southern Transportation failed to ensure its drivers were qualified and that the company could not produce driver qualification files, including proof of valid CDLs, drug and alcohol testing or medical qualifications.
FMCSA investigators also found that Southern Transportation does not maintain vehicle maintenance reports and fails to ensure its vehicles are adequately maintained.
“Truck and bus companies that refuse to cooperate with safety investigators have no place on our nation’s roadways,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We will continue to use our authority to shut down motor carriers that endanger the public.”
“MAP-21 strengthens the ability of FMCSA investigators to take necessary and appropriate actions to protect innocent lives,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. “We will not allow the safety of the traveling public to be compromised by an unsafe commercial truck or bus company.
Read the entire out-of-service order here.