Trucking company and its owner/driver shut down for drug rule violation

Updated Dec 14, 2021
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A South Dakota trucking company and its owner and driver has been effectively shut down by federal regulators for violations of drug-related and other regulatory issues.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently declared Rapid City, South Dakota-based trucking company 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 the company owner and driver, Clayton Hall, be immediately ordered out-of-service, prohibiting him from operating any commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce.

An FMCSA said its investigation found Hall Trucking 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); Qualification of Drivers (49 CFR Part 391), and; Driving of CMVs (49 CFR Part 392).

The FMCSA said in a statement that in June of 2020, Hall tested positive for amphetamines and was notified that, as required by federal safety regulations, he was prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle 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, according to the FMCSA. 

Federal 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. That individual also possessed an “intrastate only” CDL, which did not allow him to legally operate a commercial vehicle outside South Dakota state boundaries.  

The FMCSA's statement said despite these prohibitions, the individual, on at least three occasions in 2021, was dispatched by Hall on commercial interstate trucking trips.

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FMCSA’s imminent hazard out-of-service order states that Hall Trucking’s â€śâ€¦..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.