U.S. Department of Transportation Orders Four Trucking Companies to Cease Operating

FMCSA finds companies reincarnated an out-of-service truck company

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has ordered four Olathe, Kan.-based trucking companies – Royal Transport, Inc.; Nationwide, Inc.; Freight, Inc.; and Midwest A, Inc. – to immediately cease all interstate transportation service based on evidence that they are reincarnated "chameleons" for an unsafe truck company previously shut down by the agency.

"Safety is our top priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Trucking companies that attempt to dodge safety regulations or hide a history of violations by hiding behind a new name have no place on our nation's roadways."

Earlier this year, FMCSA investigators discovered that the four companies were functioning under common operation and control in order to avoid a negative compliance history.  The agency also determined that Freight, Inc., and Midwest A, Inc., were created to avoid the out-of-service order issued against Nationwide, Inc., on July 16, 2008, for failure to pay civil penalties. During its investigation, FMCSA discovered the carriers were operating the same vehicles, using the same drivers and maintaining the same operational and management structure as Royal, Inc. 

"Today's action is another step toward raising the bar for commercial vehicle and roadway safety," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "It sends a strong and important message that companies that attempt to evade safety regulations by reincarnating will be found and removed from the road."

All documents pertaining to the Royal Transport, Inc., and Nationwide, Inc., - Final Decision on Petition for Administrative Review of Operations Out-of-Service and Record Consolidation Order – can be viewed at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FMCSA-2013-0079-0004.

SOURCE Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration