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Missouri Truck Driver Declared Imminent Hazard to Public Safety

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an agency of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), recently ruled that Missouri truck driver Bruce Andrew Pollard was an imminent hazard to public safety (FMCSA Declares Missouri Truck Driver to be an Imminent Hazard to Public Safety). The federal order, dated August 2, 2019, banned Pollard from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce.

Pollard, a holder of a Missouri commercial driver’s license (CDL), crashed his tractor-trailer into the rear of a line of vehicles while exceeding the speed limit in an active work zone in Indianapolis, killing a mother and her two young children and injuring seven others. Pollard was charged with three counts of reckless homicide and one count of reckless operation of a vehicle in a highway work zone.

FMCSA investigators discovered that Pollard had a history of careless driving. Pollard was disciplined in April 2019 and eventually terminated by his employer for multiple incidents of unsafe driving.

When he applied for his most recent truck driving job in June 2019, Pollard failed to disclose his previous employment and the reason for his termination and falsely certified that he had not previously been involved in an accident. Fraudulent or intentionally false statements on a federal safety application are a violation of USDOT and FMCSA regulations.

In its imminent hazard out-of-service order, FCMSA stated that Pollard’s “blatant and egregious violations of [federal safety regulations], local operating laws and ongoing and repeated disregard for the safety of the motoring public substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to you and the motoring public.” Any violations of the out-of-service order can result in both civil and criminal penalties.

As part of its mission to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses, FMCSA regulates and provides oversight of CMV operators throughout the country and helps to ensure the safety of Missouri drivers. If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident involving a large truck or bus, please contact Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman for a free consultation. We will only receive a fee in the event of a successful resolution of your case.

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