Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 26, 2024:
A New Jersey-licensed truck driver has been effectively shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after an accident in which he rear-ended a passenger vehicle and left the scene of the accident.
According to FMCSA’s Imminent Hazard Order, Gurpreet Singh rear-ended the vehicle on Highway 10 in Hillsboro, Oregon, on March 28. After being located after leaving the scene, an inspection of his truck revealed a bottle marked “vodka” inside the cab. Singh was placed out-of-service and directed not to operate.
Singh proceeded to disregard his out-of-service order and operated his truck later that same day in Clackamas County, Oregon. After attempting to evade a sheriff’s deputy, Singh was apprehended and found to be visibly impaired. Singh was arrested and testing showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.07, well over the .04 threshold for a commercial driver.
Prior to the March 28, 2024, incidents in Oregon, on Aug. 31, 2023, Singh was operating his truck in an erratic fashion in Pinal, Arizona, when he was apprehended. A Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) revealed a quick capture of .111 and Singh was arrested.
Based on these incidents, FMCSA said, Singh will be listed as prohibited in FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and FMCSA is working with the state of New Jersey to disqualify his CDL. He is charged in Arizona with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of operating a CMV while under the influence of alcohol. Singh is also charged in Oregon with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol.
FMCSA’s Imminent Hazard Out-of-Service Order states that Singh’s “blatant disregard for the safety of the motoring public demonstrated by these actions substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to you and the motoring public if not discontinued immediately.”
