WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared Koboat Trucking LLC, USDOT No. 3273682, a Houston-based motor carrier, to be an imminent hazard to public safety and ordered the motor carrier to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate operations.
The motor carrier was served the federal order on March 4.
On Feb. 3, driver Christopher M. Savannah was operating a truck for Koboat Trucking LLC when he crashed in Tennessee and killed a sergeant from the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.
The FMCSA declared Savannah to be an imminent hazard to public safety on Feb. 17. The FMCSA also directed him to immediately cease operating any commercial motor vehicle.
Savannah ignored a rolling roadblock and crashed into two cars before killing Sergeant Chris Jenkins., who had stopped to remove a ladder obstructing the roadway, according to the FMCSA’s imminent hazard out-of-service order.
Additionally, Savannah did not have a commercial driver’s license, was prohibited from operating commercial motor vehicles due to a previous positive drug test and was arrested for being under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash, according to the order.
A subsequent FMCSA review of Koboat Trucking found the motor carrier to be egregiously noncompliant with multiple federal safety regulations, including Controlled Substances and Alcohol Use and Testing (49 CFR Part 382); Commercial Driver’s License Standards (49 CFR Part 383); Driver Qualification (49 CFR Part 391); Hours of Service of Drivers (49 CFR Part 395); and vehicle Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance (49 CFR Part 396).
Koboat Trucking took no action to ensure its driver was eligible to drive; had it done so, it would have discovered that the driver was not properly licensed and was prohibited from driving its truck due to a drug test conducted in March 2020 that came back positive for marijuana, according to FMCSA’s order.
‘In fact, Koboat Trucking had no safety management controls in place,” the order stated.
Additionally, the FMCSA order stated that “Koboat Trucking did not have a program to detect and deter the use of controlled substances by its drivers, did not have a program to ensure its drivers were qualified and licensed, did not have a program to control its drivers’ hours of service, and did not have a program to ensure its vehicles were appropriately inspected and repaired. Koboat Trucking exercised virtually no oversight over its drivers or vehicles and thus abdicated all responsibility for safety.”
Further, the FMCSA report stated that Koboat Trucking’s “…complete and utter disregard for the [federal safety regulations] substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death for your drivers and the motoring public if your 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. Koboat Trucking LLC 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.
A copy of the imminent hazard order issued to Koboat Trucking LLC is available here.
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.
