The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered U&D Service Inc. of Indianapolis to immediately cease all transportation services in or affecting interstate commerce, declaring the commercial truck company an "imminent hazard" to public safety.


This order follows an extensive review of the company's operations, which found multiple federal safety violations, including a continuous pattern of using drivers without valid commercial driver's licenses and using drivers that do not meet federal English proficiency requirements. There also were repeated violations of vehicle weight limits and tire load weight limits.

U&D Service was identified as a New Entrant Carrier on May 27, 2011, meaning it was subject to a new entrant safety monitoring period of 18 months. During this time, the carrier's roadside activity is closely monitored to ensure that the carrier has basic safety management controls that are operating effectively.

From Nov. 3, 2011 to Jan. 27, 2012, the Indian State Police conducted 26 roadside inspections of U & D's vehicles. During this time, there were:

-12 citations for drivers lacking CDLs,
-10 citations for exceeding vehicle weight limits
-8 citations for exceeding tire weight limits
-21 citations for English proficiency violations

In December, FMCSA served U&D with an expedited action letter demanding the company respond to its many citations. The company responded saying it would take corrective action to address weight and license regulations. However, during the following three weeks, the Indiana State Police cited drivers six times for not having CDLs and six times for overweight vehicles.

U&D Service has a Safety Measurement System (SMS) score of 83.4% in the Unsafe Driving BASIC,
70.9% in the Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service) BASIC, and 99.9% in the Driver Fitness
BASIC.

The Indiana State Police found that many of the company's drivers could not answer basic questions such as, "where are you going" and "where are you coming from." In more than one case, the Indiana State Police told a driver he was out-of-service and could not leave the inspection area, but the driver responded by starting the engine and driving away.

FMCSA may take enforcement action against the non-CDL-holding drivers, including civil penalties and/or driver disqualifications.

A copy of the imminent hazard out-of-service order can be viewed here.