Sen. Durbin Asks DOT’s Inspector General to Audit FMCSA Investigative Practices
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has asked the Transportation Department’s inspector general for an audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s investigative practices.
“The inspector general should review FMCSA’s practices to ensure motor carriers flagged for investigation are being investigated in a timely manner,” Durbin wrote to IG Calvin Scovel III in an April 9 letter.
Durbin is the Senate’s Assistant Majority Leader.
A Chicago Tribune report found a troubling example of FMCSA ordering, but never actually launching, an investigation into an Illinois motor carrier with a long history of violating safety rules, the senator’s office said, citing a January crash that killed an Illinois Tollway worker and injured a state trooper.
“FMCSA should not wait until a crash occurs before following through on investigations they order,” and the IG “should review whether or not the type of investigations FMCSA conducts are adequate enough to catch violations,” Durbin’s letter stated.
