Photo courtesy of FMCSA Facebook
WASHINGTON – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the United States Department of Transportation has declared Rapid City-based Hall Trucking trucking company an imminent danger to public safety and has ordered the carrier to cease immediately all its operations.
An FMCSA investigation found Hall Trucking to be “extremely non-compliant” with several federal safety regulations, including: controlled substances and alcohol consumption and testing; Commercial driver’s license standards; Qualification of drivers, and; VMC driving.
The federal order, which was served on November 19, 2021, further clarified that company owner and truck driver Clayton Hall, who holds a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) issued by South Dakota, would immediately be taken out of service, prohibiting him from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce.
According to the FMCSA file, Hall tested positive for amphetamines in June 2020 and was told that he was prohibited from operating a CMV until he had successfully completed the required return-to-work process. by law supervised by an addiction professional, as required by federal safety regulations.
Hall’s drug test result was also reported to the FMCSA CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Despite the disqualification, Hall reportedly continued to operate a VMC on at least 20 occasions, including at least three interstate trips in October 2021.
FMCSA investigators further found that a driver employed by Hall Trucking did not have an up-to-date forensic certificate required by federal regulations for interstate business operations. In addition, the individual had an “intra-state-only” CDL, which did not allow him to legally operate a VMC outside of the borders of the state of South Dakota.
Despite these bans, the individual, on at least three occasions in 2021, was sent by Hall on commercial interstate trucking trips.
The FMCSA’s Imminent Danger Decommission Order indicates that Hall Trucking’s “… ..total disregard for the [federal safety regulations] dramatically increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to its drivers and the automotive public if its operations are not immediately halted.
Failure to comply with the provisions of the Federal Imminent Hazards Ordinance can result in civil penalties of up to $ 28,142 for each violation. Hall Trucking can also face civil penalties of at least $ 11,256 for providing transportation in interstate commerce without registration with the operating authority, and up to $ 15,876 for operating a VMC in interstate commerce without registration of the USDOT number.
