Simmons and Fletcher are warning the public that a recent rise in trucking companies cutting corners and ignoring Federal Motor Carrier Transportation Laws could be placing the public at an elevated risk. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has shut down two separate trucking companies for blatantly disregarding the law and safety. Cutting corners is a bad practice that rises in many businesses in a poor economy and is simply unacceptable for a company that puts heavy 18-wheelers and other commercial vehicles on the public highways. Simmons and Fletcher want the public to know that their attorneys are prepared to travel across the country to handle an 18-wheeler accident, truck accident, semi or other commercial
motor vehicle collision on behalf of victims and their families whose injuries may be a result of bad trucking companies cutting corners on safety.
On March 30, 2012, the FMCSA ordered Utah-based Reliable Transportation Services, Inc. to immediately cease all transportation services. Reliable Transportation Services, Inc. and the trucking company’s principal, Jay Zachary Barber, were both declared an imminent hazard to public safety. The shut down order comes after safety investigators found hours-of-service and driver qualification violations that substantially increased the likelihood of serious injury or death to the traveling public. FMCSA’s investigation revealed that the company was using drivers with suspended or revoked commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) and was not employing any drug or alcohol tests with regards to their drivers. Reliable Transportation was also found to be transporting concealed hazardous material loads without valid federal registration. Hazardous material loads are highly regulated and require special permits to ensure proper containment and disposal.
On April 9, 2012, the FMCSA ordered the shutdown of J&A Transportation. Several roadside inspections found that the company’s truck drivers had committed multiple hours-of-service, driver and vehicle maintenance violations. Investigators further found that the trucking company continued to operate without an active USDOT number or valid operating authority, that they were operating vehicles that had serious mechanical defects, and were not regularly inspected and repaired.
Hours-of-service violations often refer to drivers either not keeping proper log book records or driving for a longer time than Federal Law allows without taking the appropriate amount of off-duty and/or break time. Excessive driving hours can lead to truck driver fatigue. Driver fatigue is a major cause of accidents with regard to over-the-road truck drivers. Vehicle defects can refer to anything from safety devices and signals not working to faulty air-brakes, lights, gauges and/or tires.
More information on truck accidents and causes can be found on Simmons and Fletcher’s Houston truck accident webpage. Simmons and Fletcher is prepared to travel and investigate 18 wheeler accidents across the country involving serious injury or death and to pursue litigation and discovery to determine whether driver fatigue, alcohol, drugs, inadequate training, driver incompetence or other negligence was the cause of a particular collision involving a commercial motor vehicle.
Simmons and Fletcher can be contacted at: Simmons and Fletcher 9821 Katy Freeway, Suite 925 Houston, Texas 77024. The attorneys can be reached at 713-932-0777.
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