The FMCSA today announced that the agency has declared a Florida truck driver to be “an imminent hazard to public safety” and ordered the driver to not operate any CMV in interstate commerce.
The driver, James H. Patterson, was involved in a fatal crash in Rockingham County, Virginia.
On November 13, the truck that Patterson was driving crossed the center line and overturned onto a passenger car. The driver of the car was killed.
Patterson has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance.
In addition, investigators determined that Patterson had violated federal HOS regulations, used a hand-held device while driving a CMV and was speeding.
“Safety must be the top priority of every driver, particularly commercial drivers who operate large trucks and buses on our public roadways,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Recklessly jeopardizing the safety of the motoring public by violating critical federal safety regulations will not be tolerated.”
“There will be no pause, no diminishment of our continuing, vigorous efforts to prevent unsafe commercial drivers from getting behind the wheel and endangering the public,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “Every truck and bus company and every driver they employ should have no doubt that we will vigorously enforce all federal safety regulations to the fullest extent possible by law.”