FMCSA Shuts Down Illinois Carrier

Federal transportation safety regulators ordered an Illinois trucking company to cease its commercial operations after an investigation found drivers were on the road for long stretches of time that posed an “imminent hazard to public safety.”

DND International Inc. drew the attention of federal regulators following a Jan. 27 accident where a company driver crashed into the vehicles of an Illinois Tollway worker and a state trooper. The toll driver was killed, and the trooper sustained serious injuries.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration probe determined that the DND International driver, Renato Velasquez, had rested less than 6 hours after driving a truck for about 1,000 miles at the time of the crash.

The investigation also revealed Velasquez falsified his records of duty status the days leading up to the crash.

The agency banned Velasquez from operating a commercial motor vehicle, and he is being charged with felony violations. At least six other drivers for the Naperville, Ill.-based company were found to have provided false information regarding the time they spent on the road.

FMCSA’s hours-of-service rules prohibit truck drivers from operating vehicles longer than 11 hours per shift and remaining on duty after 14 hours on the job. These limits are meant to keep drowsy truckers off the road.

“Companies and commercial drivers that knowingly jeopardize public safety by disregarding common-sense regulations that prevent driver fatigue will not be tolerated and will be banned from continuing their dangerous and illegal behavior,” FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro said in a statement.

The agency is asking the company to submit a lengthy plan detailing how it will comply with safety policies going forward in order to resume operations. This includes establishing and carrying out a disciplinary program and a comprehensive training system for its drivers and ensuring drivers accurately record the time they’ve worked.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) praised FMCSA’s action saying such “vigorous oversight must continue in order to make certain we are doing everything possible to prevent this kind of dangerous behavior.”

Calls to the company were not immediately returned. A lawyer for the company said in published reports that the company will comply with regulators.