In July, a ruling was passed that would allow the FMCSA to revoke a carrier’s operating authority based not on their poor safety record, but on a lack of cooperation with authorities. For the first time ever, the FMCSA has shut down a company for refusing to allow access to their records.
After the Fung Wah company, a Boston-based passenger carrier, had their busses placed out of service, the company briefly leased new vehicles, but were shut down entirely on Tuesday after they wouldn’t produce safety records requested by the FMCSA.
“We will not hesitate to immediately shut down a bus or truck company that ignores safety regulations and puts innocent lives at risk,” FMCSA administrator Anne Ferro said in a statement. “We will employ every tool we have to take unsafe commercial drivers, vehicles and entire companies off the road anywhere in the county at any time.”
The company has not been closed in perpetuity, however. According to federal authorities, if the company releases its safety records, submits to a full review, and presents a plan of action for correcting any faults found, it could apply for reinstatement.
Fung Wah, sometimes called as “The Chinatown Bus,” which is known for its cheap tickets between Chinatown in Boston and Chinatown in New York City, has a long history of vehicle maintenance issues. In the past two years, it has been cited for 159 maintenance violations on its fleet of 28 buses. Its drivers are ranked in the bottom 3% of drivers nationwide based on experience and training, have received up to a dozen speeding violations, and have been cited 6 times for failure to speak English or operating without a commercial driver’s license.
Next Story: When Drivers Fight Back
Source: boston, huffington post
Image Source: boston
Maybe the Fmcsa should shut down themselves for causing reckless driving do to their hours of service rules imposed on the American trucker. By giving the American trucker a 14 hour rule in which to conduct business without the proper brakes and being able to extend those hours service we have caused drivers to drive more recklessly at the end of their shift!
I applaud the FMCSA for this ruling. Carriers that are blatantly unsafe SHOULD be taken off of the road.
However, I am very disturbed by this statement:
“We will employ every tool we have to take unsafe commercial drivers, vehicles and entire companies off the road anywhere in the county at any time.”
How about we just start issuing jackboots to D.O.T. officers now?
But then, let’s have a look at all of the unsafe 4-Wheelers on the road. 81% of the crashes between cars and trucks were caused by the cars.
So how about this, FMCSA? How about a statement that goes more like this:
“We will employ every tool we have to take unsafe drivers off the road anywhere in the county at any time.”
Ge the unsafe 4-wheelers off of the road and THEN get sanctimonious with the press! We in the trucking community are BEGGING you for safer roads!