FMCSA Puts Four “Chameleon” Carriers Out of Business

One of the roles of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to enforce safety rules among the many commercial truck and bus companies that operate in the United States.  When a company is ordered to stop business until a safety problem is fixed, many companies set the problem right as soon as possible  Some, however, choose an easier but more dangerous route and simply dissolve, re-forming under a new Department of Transportation (DOT) number and continuing business as usual.

The FMCSA refers to such carriers as “chameleon” or “reincarnated” carriers. Because many of these carriers don’t address their safety issues, they create a higher risk of accidents and injuries – not only for their own drivers and passengers, but also for everyone else who shares the road with their vehicles. As a result, experienced Missouri truck accident attorneys watch carefully for news of reincarnated or “chameleon” carriers.

Recently, as part of a recent campaign to improve regulation enforcement and roadway safety, the FMCSA began increasing its investigations of chameleon carriers and ordering them to cease operations once again.  The most recent carriers put out of service by FMCSA’s orders include four trucking companies based in Kansas.  All four were found to have avoided previous penalties issued for safety and to have re-formed as new companies, but while using the same equipment, drivers, and policies.  The previous companies from which the four Kansas carriers were formed had been ordered to stop business in 2008 until the previous concerns were addressed. Contact us today at 1-800-CAR-CRASH (1-800-227-2727) for a free and confidential consultation.