Washington Notebook: DOT shuts down unsafe log carrier

   The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Monday shutdown Judson Mobley Logging, a small Georgia-based motor carrier that hauled logs, because of unsafe operating practices.
   The agency said investigators found multiple violations of drug and alcohol testing procedures, driver qualifications and vehicle maintenance rules, and declared the company “an imminent hazard to public safety.”
   The enforcement action followed the discovery that Judson Mobley continued to operate its three power units in violation of a January order to cease transportation services because of an unsatisfactory safety rating. 
   On April 30, a logging rig operated by Judson Mobley crashed into an escorted tractor-trailer carrying a military airplane on U.S. Highway 301 in South Carolina. The patrol officer placed the vehicle out-of-service for defective brakes and reported 20 other vehicle maintenance violations. Almost 12 months earlier, the same truck had been ordered out-of-service for bad brakes.
   The out-of-service order describes a pattern of disregarding motor carrier safety laws.
   During an on-site compliance review last November, agency personnel uncovered violations “so serious as to demonstrate a management philosophy indifferent to motor carrier safety,” the document said. 
   The company lacked any management controls and oversight to ensure safe operation of commercial motor vehicles. It didn’t have a vehicle maintenance program; prepare or maintain vehicle inspection, repair and maintenance records; require its drivers to complete driver vehicle inspection reports; didn’t check driver qualifications or keep records of their applications, medical certificates, or state-driving documents; and didn’t have an alcohol or controlled substances testing program.
   It’s scores in two safety categories – vehicle maintenance and driver fitness/behavior – almost reached 100, indicating the worst possible performance in the FMCSA’s new safety measurement system.
   Putting Judson Mobley out of business until it fixes its problems is small potatoes considering the size of the company. But it helps the rest of the industry when fly-by-night companies that skirt the rules everyone else has to follow aren’t allowed to cut corners to win customers with low rates and undermine the industry’s overall safety record. – Eric Kulisch