U.S. DOT CONSIDERS ACTION AGAINST TRANSPORT FIRMS WITH DELINQUENT FINES

U.S. DOT CONSIDERS ACTION AGAINST TRANSPORT FIRMS WITH DELINQUENT FINES    The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plans to take action against truckers, brokers and freight forwarders that fail to pay civil penalties.
   Over the years the agency, formerly the Office of Motor Carriers, has not revoked or suspended licenses of operators for non-payment fines. These fines range from improper handling of hazardous materials to truck safety violations.
   Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued $8.7 million in fines in 3,748 violation cases, of which $5.1 million was unpaid on 1,436 of these cases. The agency continues to report increasing number of cases each year.
   The agency proposes to authorize the Transportation Secretary to terminate a company’s registration to perform interstate commerce for failure to pay fines within 90 days after issuance.
   “One motor carrier has had $126,653 in outstanding fines since October 1995 and continues normal operations,” the agency said. “Another motor carrier has a penalty in excess of $22,000, which has been outstanding for more than four years.”