On April 1, 2014, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revoked the operating authority registration and suspended the U.S. Department of Transportation number registration for a local trucking company. FTW Transport, LLC of Forest Hill, Texas was cited as an imminent hazard to public safety for disregarding federal safety regulations and putting their drivers and the motoring public at risk.
Background
The FMCSA’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) score is intended to identify and alert the FMCSA to trucking companies that have safety issues and violations in excess of allowable thresholds. FTW Transport’s BASIC scores were elevated. In addition, FTW Transport has had 5 preventable recordable crashes in the past 12 months. Four of these crashes involved serious injuries or fatalities.
In December, 2013, the FMCSA initiated a compliance review of FTW Transport as a result of the high BASIC scores. During the investigation, “serious non-compliance” with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) was identified. See the FMCSA’s shut down order here. When investigators returned in February, 2014, they again found serious violations of the FMCSRs. The compliance review resulted in an unsatisfactory safety rating proposal.
The Problems
The FMCSA cited FTW Transport for multiple violations of the FMCSRs. The company failed to ensure its drivers complied with hours-of-service and records-of-duty status requirements and permitted “widespread falsification of records-of-duty status.” In fact, in the review conducted in December, 2013 the FMCSA identified five drivers to have a critical level of false records-of-duty status. Three of these drivers were still employed with FTW Transport in March, 2014 with significantly higher rates of falsification of their logs.
The FMCSA also cited FTW Transport for its failure to comply with mandated controlled substances and alcohol use and testing requirements. FTW Transport was found to be “egregiously deficient” in its compliance with these FMCSRs.
In addition to other safety violations, FTW Transport had an “alarmingly high number of preventable crashes.” FTW Transport had five preventable crashes in the last 12 months and a crash rate almost 25% higher than the safety rating accident factor unsatisfactory threshold. Of these crashes, four of them resulted in serious injuries or fatalities to those involved.
The FMCSA’s Action
As a result of the multitude of safety violations and FTW Transport’s “serious non-compliance” with the federal safety regulations, the FMCSA has issued an imminent hazard out-of-service order. US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stated that “safety is our highest priority and we will continue to demand that bus and truck companies fulfill their responsibility to ensure that dangerous vehicles and unsafe drivers are not permitted on our highways and roads. Companies that fail in this responsibility will not be allowed to operate.”
How this Impacts You
Unsafe and dangerous trucking companies put dangerous operators out on the same road that you and your family are traveling. The unsafe and dangerous actions by these 
operators and trucking companies can put lives at risk. The effects of a fatal or serious injury crash can be devastating, not only for the person involved in the crash, but for his or her family, friends and co-workers.
If you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries and/or death as a result of a truck crash, contact the Law Offices of John David Hart at 800-247-1623 or johnhart@hartlaw.com to discuss your legal rights. We are experienced in helping individuals and families deal with the devastating effects of serious truck crashes on the lives of those involved and are dedicated to helping you during this difficult time.
