WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared Rapid City, South Dakota-based Hall Trucking to be an imminent hazard to public safety and has ordered the carrier to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate operations.
The federal order, which was served Nov.19, further specified that the company owner and truck driver, Clayton Hall, who holds a South Dakota-issued commercial driver’s license (CDL), be immediately ordered out-of-service, prohibiting him from operating any commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce.
According to an FMCSA news release issued Friday, an FMCSA investigation found Hall Trucking to be “egregiously noncompliant with multiple federal safety regulations, including: controlled substances and alcohol use and testing; commercial driver’s license standards; qualification of drivers and; driving of CMVs.”
In June 2020, owner/driver Hall tested positive for amphetamines and was notified that, as required by federal safety regulations, he was prohibited from operating a CMV until such time he successfully completed the statutorily required return-to-duty process overseen by a Substance Abuse Professional. Hall’s drug test result was also reported to FMCSA’s CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
Despite the disqualification, Hall continued to operate a CMV on at least 20 occasions, including at least three interstate trips in October 2021.
FMCSA investigators further discovered that a Hall Trucking employee driver did not have a current medical examiner’s certificate required by federal regulation for interstate commercial operations. Additionally, the individual possessed an “intrastate only” CDL, which did not allow him to legally operate a CMV outside South Dakota state boundaries. Despite these prohibitions, the individual, on at least three occasions in 2021, was dispatched by Hall on commercial interstate trucking trips.
FMCSA’s imminent hazard out-of-service order states that Hall Trucking’s “,..complete disregard for the [federal safety regulations] substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death for its drivers and the motoring public if its operations are not discontinued immediately.”
Failing to comply with the provisions of the federal imminent hazard order may result in civil penalties of up to $28,142 for each violation.
Hall Trucking may also be assessed civil penalties of not less than $11,256 for providing transportation in interstate commerce without operating authority registration, and up to $15,876 for operating a CMV in interstate commerce without USDOT Number registration.
Knowing and/or willful violations may result in criminal penalties.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
