The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published a patterns of safety violations rule, which implements the agency’s authority to shut down a bus or truck company if the company, or a company officer, has a history of purposely violating federal safety regulations. The rule is one new enforcement tool the agency has developed in recent years to target high-risk carriers that endanger travelers by avoiding or covering up their negative history of safety compliance.
FMCSA intends to apply the rule in egregious cases in which it finds that a motor carrier has committed a pattern of unsafe practices, even if that particular investigation alone does not result in a downgrade of the carrier’s safety fitness rating. The new rule complements a rule adopted by the agency in 2012 to apply out-of-service orders to reincarnated or chameleon carriers and to consolidate their enforcement histories. This rule goes one step further by authorizing a complete revocation of the motor carrier’s authority to operate. Click here for more information.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers