WASHINGTON, DC- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared a Mitchell, South Dakota-based trucking company and its owner to be imminent hazards to public safety.

As such, both the company, Lonnie Roth, and its owner are ordered to cease all commercial operations.

 “There is no higher priority than safety,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We demand that truck and bus companies and their drivers comply with our common sense safety regulations or they will be prohibited from operating on our roadways.”

In October 2014, FMCSA safety investigators completed a compliance investigation of the trucking company and found serious violations of federal regulations, including:

• Dispatching a driver known to have an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater;
• Failing to implement a random testing program of drivers for controlled substances and alcohol use;
• Failing to ensure that its drivers complied with federal hours-of-service regulations designed to prevent fatigue, including limitations on daily driving and maximum on-duty hours.

Separately, on December 5, 2014, Roth’s South Dakota-issued commercial driver’s license was revoked by the state for having operated a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

The FMCSA shut the company down on December 28, 2014, but in January 2015, Roth’s trucking company was found to have continued its commercial operations in violation of the federal shut-down order.

The FMCSA found driver Roth operating a commercial motor vehicle without a valid CDL and while in violation of federal regulations on the consumption of alcohol prior to operating a commercial motor vehicle.

FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling commented: “FMCSA is working shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local law partners to vigorously enforce commercial vehicle safety everywhere. It is unacceptable for a company or a commercial driver to disregard the law and jeopardize the safety of every traveler on our highways and roads.”

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