Carrier Involved in Fatal Crash Was Not on FMCSA's Radar
Alabama trucking company Hester, whose driver was recently involved in a deadly crash, would not have been on the radar of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had it not been for the cras
Alabama trucking company Hester, whose driver was recently involved in a deadly crash, would not have been on the radar of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had it not been for the crash
, according to Monty Dial, senior trooper (Ret.) of the Texas Highway Patrol.
The FMCSA will be conducting a compliance review following the crash, according to reports by The Trucker. Hester driver Kenneth Laymon drove his tractor-trailer over the median on Interstate 65 in Kentucky when he crashed into a van, killing himself and 10 Mennonites in the van, reports The Courier-Journal.
According to the The Courier-Journal, the National Transportation Safety Board is looking into Laymon's schedule during the 72 hours prior to the crash and the last two weeks. The Kentucky State Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
"This company is a perfect example of why the current system (Compliance Reviews) does not work," said Dial.
Whether a compliance review is going to be conducted by the FMCSA is determined by looking at the four Safety Evaluation Areas, or SEAs, which include crashes, drivers, vehicles and management. Dial says that for a carrier to get on the FMCSA's radar, they must have an overall score of more than 200. The overall score includes driver SEA and vehicle SEA, and for Hester, these scores were 88 and 60, respectively, putting it in the range of 148 overall, Dial said.
However, the FMCSA will look at carriers that have a high crash rating and one other high SEA, Dial said. While Hester's crash rating is 0.87 crashes per 1 million miles driven, the crash rating would need to be at or above 1.5 crashes per 1 million miles for the FMCSA to take notice, he added.
To see the The Courier-Journal's coverage of the crash, click here.
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