FMCSA shuts down two-truck fleet in fourth carrier shutdown order of year

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Friday it has issued an effective shutdown order Hendersonville, North Carolina-based Leslie Erickson, doing business as Les’s Tree and Stump, Inc. The two-truck and two-driver carrier, per its CSA Safety Measurement System info, was issued the order March 8, FMCSA says, following a federal investigation.

FMCSA says its investigators found the company to be in violation of multiple federal safety regulations, including:

  • Failing to conduct pre-employment background checks on drivers;
  • Failing to ensure drivers were qualified before dispatching them in commercial operations;
  • Failing to properly monitor drivers to ensure compliance with hours-of-service requirements;
  • Failing to conduct random drug and alcohol tests on drivers, and;
  • Failing to ensure that its vehicles were regularly inspected, maintained and repaired and met minimum safety standards.