A recent report in a trucking publication indicated that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) declared the trucking company John A. Robles, doing business as J and J Transportation and based out of Worcester, Massachusetts, USDOT No. 2497430, to be an imminent hazard to public safety and ordered that it immediately cease all intrastate and interstate operations.
Bob PudlewskiJ and J Transportation was served the federal order on Feb. 25, 2016.
In early February of 2016, FMCSA investigators visited J and J Transportation to conduct a compliance review. A couple of numerous discoveries by the FMCSA were that the company refused, or was unable, to produce: Vehicle maintenance records, including servicing schedules, or documentation otherwise indicating that the company had a vehicle maintenance program; and drivers’ vehicle inspection reports or evidence that drivers undertook federally required pre-trip and post-trip safety inspections.
Do you have a documented maintenance program, that includes scheduled service, with accurate records of work performed? Or are you among those that say, “We have always done it this way?” How do you think the FMCSA would react to that comment?
We live in a technological age that provides us with educational support and the tools to do it the “Right Way.” If you have any doubt about your responsibility, just reflect on the number of agencies that regulate transportation. Don’t wait for them to seek you out and critique your program to learn you are not in compliance. Seek support and knowledge from OEMs, trade publications, industry seminars, etc.
