The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered Alabama-based BM&L Trucking, affiliated company IDM Transportation Inc. and its owners to immediately cease all transportation services based on serious safety violations that posed an imminent hazard to public safety.


The shutdown order follows FMCSA's extensive review of BM&L Trucking's operations, which found multiple federal safety violations in the areas of hours-of-service compliance, driver qualifications and vehicle maintenance.

FMCSA found that BM&L Trucking does not monitor its drivers' hours of service or require its drivers to prepare and submit records of duty status. The FMCSA's report says that "negligent oversight of its drivers result in drivers operating commercial motor vehicles at a time when they may be fatigued because of driving in excess of the maximum driving time, driving after the maximum on-duty time, and/or other HOS regulations."

BM&L also failed to follow FMCSA driver qualification requirements to ensure that its drivers are qualified to operate its commercial motor vehicles. The company does not have a vehicle maintenance program in place, does not prepare or maintain vehicle inspection, repair and maintenance records, and it does not require its drivers to complete driver vehicle inspection reports.

The company's BASIC scores are "alarmingly high," says the agency: Vehicle
Maintenance (99.4%), Unsafe Driving (99.2%), Fatigued Driving (86.9%) Driver Fitness (95.4%).

"BM&L Trucking, LLC's continued and blatant disregard for the FMCSRs establishes an imminently hazardous and potentially deadly risk for its drivers and the motor public," the report says.

A copy of the imminent hazard out-of-service order can be viewed at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/about/news/2012/BML-Trucking-IH-Order.pdf.