The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ordered Tennessee-based truck company Three Angels Farms and its owners, Edwin Ayache and Dorian Ayache, to immediately cease all transportation services based on serious safety violations that posed an imminent hazard to public safety.
The shutdown order was the result of FMCSA’s findings of multiple federal violations in hours-of-service compliance, driver qualification requirements, drug and alcohol testing and vehicle maintenance, the agency said.
FMCSA immediately put Three Angels Farms, its officers and vehicles out of service after safety investigators found multiple safety infractions that “substantially increased the likelihood of serious injury to the traveling public,” according to the order.
Among the findings, investigators discovered that the company permitted its drivers to operate commercial motor vehicles without commercial driver's licenses and did not conduct proper controlled substances testing of its drivers. In addition, during the past six months, Three Angels Farms has had two accidents involving poorly maintained vehicles and fatigued or disqualified drivers, which resulted in the deaths of four horses, FMCSA said.
“This strong enforcement action is an example of how we are working to keep all travelers on our highways and roads safe,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “We will continue to use every resource within our current authority to weed out the unsafe operators.”
“Safety is always our top priority,” added U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “If a truck company ignores federal safety rules and places the traveling public at risk, we will remove them from the road.”
A copy of the imminent hazard out-of-service order can be viewed at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/about/news/2012/Three-Angel-Farms-Final-IH-Order.pdf.
