South Dakota truck driver declared imminent hazard

Investigators say Clayton Virgil Hall continued to operate his vehicle despite failing multiple controlled substance tests and never completing the return-to-work program.

   The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared South Dakota-licensed truck driver Clayton Virgil Hall to be an imminent hazard to public safety and has ordered him not to operate any commercial vehicle in interstate commerce.
   Hall, a commercial driver’s license holder, was served the order on March 27. He reportedly had tested positive for amphetamines, a Schedule II controlled substance for which he did not have a valid prescription, multiple times since January 2017. He also was found guilty of criminal intent to possess cocaine and methamphetamine after he was stopped in his tractor trailer by Nebraska police in July, FMCSA said.
   The incident in Nebraska, in which he pleaded no contest, came after he announced in May that he was no longer operating a CMV.
   After Hall tested positive for amphetamines in 2017, he was required to complete a return-to-duty program involving multiple follow-up controlled substance tests. Despite failing the follow-up tests and never fulfilling the return-to-duty substance abuse program as required by federal regulation, he continued to drive his tractor trailer in interstate commerce as recently as March, FMCSA said.
   “Your blatant and egregious violations of [federal safety regulations] and drug and alcohol regulations and ongoing and repeated disregard for the safety of the motoring public demonstrated by these actions substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to you and the motoring public,” the agency’s imminent hazard out-of-service order to Hall states.
   Failure to comply with the provisions of a federal imminent hazard out-of-service order may result in action by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for equitable relief and punitive damages. Civil penalties up to $1,848 may be assessed for each day a CMV is operated in violation of the order. Knowing and/or willful violation also may result in criminal penalties.
   Hall also may be subject to a civil penalty enforcement proceeding brought by FMSCA for his violation of its safety regulations.