The FMCSA today announced the agency has ordered South Carolina carrier and driver, Lonnie Roth, to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate commercial operations, declaring the carrier and driver to be an “imminent hazards to public safety.”
In October 2014, FMCSA investigators investigated Lonnie Roth trucking. The investigation yielded an unsatisfactory safety rating, as investigators found “serious violations of federal regulations.”
According to the FMCSA, Lonnie Roth trucking dispatched a driver known to have an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater, failed to implement a random drug testing program, and failed to ensure that drivers complied with HOS regulations. A federal order requiring the carrier cease operations became effective December 28, 2014.
In December 2014, Roth’s South Dakota-issued commercial driver’s license was was revoked for having operated a CMV while under the influence of alcohol, the FMCSA states.
Then “in January 2015, on at least one occasion, Roth’s trucking company was found to have continued its commercial operations in violation of the federal shut-down order. Driver Roth was found to be operating a commercial motor vehicle without a valid CDL and while in violation of federal regulations on the consumption of alcohol prior to operating a commercial motor vehicle,” the FMCSA states.
“There is no higher priority than safety,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We demand that truck and bus companies and their drivers comply with our common sense safety regulations or they will be prohibited from operating on our roadways.”
“FMCSA is working shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local law partners to vigorously enforce commercial vehicle safety everywhere,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “It is unacceptable for a company or a commercial driver to disregard the law and jeopardize the safety of every traveler on our highways and roads.”
A copy of the imminent hazard out-of-service order may be viewed at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/lonnie-roth-ihoos.