Texas carrier shut down over vehicle, hours of service violations

February 2, 2022

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Sky-high out-of-service rates for its vehicles and drivers has earned Houston-based Adversity Transport Inc. a ban from interstate and intrastate business.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration served an imminent hazard order to the company (U.S. DOT 3424480) on Jan. 25.

Adversity Transport has a vehicle out-of-service order rate 89%, which is four times the national average of 21% for a motor carrier. Its driver out-of-service rate of 50% is eight times the national average of 6%.

On top of the vehicle and driver issues, the company “repeatedly ignored FMCSA’s contact attempts and denied FMCSA access to records required to complete an investigation of your motor carrier operations,” according to the official order.

Driving violations were cited in the imminent hazard order. Among them was a single-vehicle rollover crash involving company owner Shaquan Jeremaine Jelks on Oc. 22, 2020. Unsafe speed was determined to be a contributing factor. Three other drivers for the company were cited for speeding in October and November 2021.

Adversity Transport also ran afoul of hours of service and electronic logging device regulations.

The company failed a new entrant safety audit for refusing to use electronic logging devices. After submitting a corrective action plan noting the installation of ELDS, five of 10 drivers inspected were ordered out of service for not having ELDs.

The out-of-service order cites these vehicle violations:

On Aug. 7, 2020, Kansas Highway Patrol found six vehicle maintenance violations, including an out-of-service violation of a flat and shredded tire.
On Oct. 12, 2020, Colorado State Patrol found 18 vehicle maintenance violations, including four out-of-service violations for inoperative brake trailer brake lights and other brake issues.
On April 25, 2021, the Nebraska State Patrol found 12 vehicle maintenance violations, including four out-of-service violations for air suspension pressure loss, tire tread or sidewall separation and insufficient brake lining.
On June 11, 2021, the Missouri State Highway Patrol found four vehicle maintenance violations, including two out-of-service violations for inoperable rear brake lights and a blown tire.
On Dec. 10, 2021, the Missouri State Highway Patrol found eight vehicle maintenance violations, including four out-of-service violations for a flat tire, inadequate brake hoses, cracked frame, and damaged vehicle structures and anchor points.
Also on Dec. 10, 2021, Texas Department of Public Safety Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers inspected another of the company’s commercial motor vehicles and found 10 vehicle maintenance violations, including an out-of-service violation for brakes.

To resume motor carrier operations, Adversity Transport must establish controls and procedures to ensure its drivers comply with hours of service regulations, among other stipulations. It must also submit a plan for vehicle inspections, whether the equipment is owned, rented or leased. LL