DOT orders Georgia trucking company to cease operations

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Industrial Transit, a trucking company based out of LaGrange, Ga., is a threat to public safety and has ordered the company to cease operations.

   The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said LaGrange, Ga.-based trucking company, Industrial Transit, Inc., poses a threat to public safety and has ordered the carrier to cease its operations.
   The carrier was served the federal order Oct. 4.
   Industrial Transit operates five commercial trucks and principally transports automotive parts across the country, including passenger vehicle air bags and related air bag components.
   On Aug. 22, 2016, an Industrial Transit truck was transporting a load of Takata air bags through Texas when the truck driver lost control and crashed. The truck caught fire and the Takata air bag components exploded, leveling a nearby house and killing its occupant. The Industrial Transit team drivers and a couple in a nearby car were injured.
   FMCSA conducted a post-crash investigation and found the company in numerous violations of federal regulations, including improperly licensed drivers, allowing an improperly alcohol and drug screened driver to continue transporting hazardous material loads, improperly trained drivers, failure to comply with federal hours of service rules, and poorly maintained trucks.
   FMCSA’s order said Industrial Transit’s “complete and utter lack of compliance with operation of (federal safety regulations)…substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death for its drivers and the motoring public…this risk is heightened further when Industrial Transit transports [hazardous materials].”
   Violations of the federal imminent hazard out-of-service order may result in a penalty of up to $25,705, operating without necessary authority may result in a fine of not less than $10,282, and operating without a USDOT number may result in a civil penalty of up to $14,502. Any violation of this order may also result in a criminal penalty, including a fine of up to $25,000 and imprisonment not to exceed one year, FMCSA warned.
   The DOT agency is considering further civil penalties for Industrial Transit’s safety violations and may recommend criminal prosecution.