Senator Chuck Schumer is looking to crack down on chameleon carriers and he’s looking to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for help. Schumer is pushing for the FMCSA to close the loopholes while allow unsafe carriers who get shut down to reopen their doors time after time.
Chameleon carriers, also sometimes called reincarnated carriers, are companies who get shut down due to unsafe equipment, driving practices, or accidents who then reopen their doors under a new name, often without changing a thing.
Schumer isn’t alone in wanting to close the loopholes that are “so large you could drive a truck through it.” The FMCSA is on board with shutting down chameleon carriers, and in a statement published in response to Schumer’s comments, indicated that they appreciated the senator’s support of the “aggressive efforts” that they are already undertaking.
An FMCSA spokesperson pointed out that they have already upped fines for chameleon carriers, have taken steps to better vet new carriers, and have instituted a rule that allows the FMCSA to revoke the operating authority of carriers who have a pattern of compliance violations.
But according to Schumer, the steps that are being taken are not enough, saying “it is critical that a better system be developed when it comes to screening potential ‘chameleon carriers’ and unsafe drivers who shouldn’t be on the roads.”
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Source: timesunion, ttnews, ithacajournal
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I hate to tell you chucky but its already illegal to reopen under another name without changing anything. News flash genius: The people that get shut down DONT CARE ABOUT THE LAW. What makes you think they care about this one???.
Try sticking to doing the job you were sent there to do and stop inventing phoney problems to hide from your lack of results
The legislation he proposes will make it harder for a chameleon to escape fines and prosecution. It’s revenue generation insurance.
Another job fmcsa not doing. These things have been going on for awhile. We should be more concerned with electronic logs. What a joke.
I love driving big rigs and tankers but stopped driving because “Big Truck Corporations” are allowed to force drivers into unsafe life threatening driving situations with no liability or consequence to the company while the “Driver” bares all the legal & financial burdens. Case in point Companies are notorious for penalizing drivers with the shortest or worst trips available in retaliation for drivers refusing to drive death traps & potential bomb on 18 wheels onto crowded public fairways. Drivers who force companies to repair unsafe trucks or tractors are penalized by being stranded to a terminal indefinitely with minimal to no pay while sleeping the under repair truck and there are big trucks on the road that are death traps & a public safety threat which include public health threats.
There are also truck drivers that have no business behind the wheel of any moving vehicle let alone a big rig. If you can’t read a traffic sign then you ought not be eligible for any driving license. A basic requirement for any driver’s license needs to be the ability to read, whether its a traffic sign, truck or any equipment manual. A driving license must require the applicant to know the difference between Right & Left. I have witnessed Big Rig Drivers use their vehicle as a weapon while laughing. Big rigs are not broncos, hot rods, or a video game, it only takes one accident to wipe out your life and countless others. Drivers urinating out the door of their truck, onto public rest area and truck stop pavement so that the stench of human urine permeates the area as soon as you approach or pass one with your window down. Rest areas and highway shoulders are strewn with bottles of bio waste.
I went through 4 driver trainers before I found a decent trainer who actually did any training and appreciated the fact that I loved driving long distances from East to West Coast even at .25 cents a mile. What law agency protects the respectful, responsible, conscientious professional driver?
In addition, government regulations gave rise to these huge trucking monster companies that drove out the hard working professional independent drivers to begin with. So are safety loop holes really the issue or just removing any competition for Giant Trucking Corporations ?
Good old govt leave the trucking industry alone before there is none . Go after all the other bussiness that shut down and open up in another name. Don’t single out one go get them all.