Report: Unsafe Truckers Allowed to Drive

W A S H I N G T O N, July 7 -- Many states are allowing unsafe truckers tocontinue to drive, according to a Transportation Department report.

The audit found that six of nine states visited by thedepartment failed to suspend the licenses of drivers who wereconvicted of major infractions in another state, such asdrunken-driving or leaving the scene of an accident.

A 1986 law requires that persons holding a commercial driver’slicense must allow their driving record to be exchanged amongstates so that the driver is held accountable for an infraction inany state.

The Transportation Department visited 9 states and the Districtof Columbia, and requested data from 41 states. They found thatseven of nine states visited and the District of Columbia, as wellas 15 states responding to the request, allowed commercial driversto avoid disqualification through special permits or probationarylicenses.

Breakdown in CommunicationA truck driver involved in the March 1999 train crash inBourbonnais, Ill., that killed 11 people was operating under aprobationary license.

The report also shows how the communications system betweenstates is not being used properly.

In a sample, 17 percent of convictions were not transmitted toother states within 90 days. Also, some states recorded violationsfrom other states, but did not use them to trigger adisqualification.

A driver in Maryland was convicted in another state of driving acommercial vehicle under the influence of drugs, which should havecarried a minimum 1-year loss of license for a first offense.Though Maryland’s records did show the offense, the driver retainedhis license.

There are seven violations that can cause a driver to have hislicense immediately suspended even on a first offense, includingdrunken-driving, violating railroad crossing rules and using acommercial vehicle to distribute drugs.

Several other common moving violations, such as speeding orreckless driving, can mean a 60-day suspension for a secondoffense.