On October 15, 2009, Charles D. Goodwin, Inc., (CDGI) doing business as Goodwin’s Trucking Company pled guilty in U.S. District Court, Winston Salem, North Carolina, to charges associated with the falsification of drivers’ duty status logs, which are regulated by FMCSA. CDGI is to be sentenced in May 2010.
The investigation was initiated as a result of an FMCSA compliance review of CDGI following a fatal accident involving one of its drivers. The review revealed that the driver violated FMCSA hours of service regulations but was not at fault for the accident.
DOT/OIG’s investigation determined that between June 2007 and May 2008 CDGI drivers made numerous false entries in their drivers’ duty status logs. In addition to facing over $35,000 in civil penalties, the plea agreement requires the carrier to install an FMCSA approved computerized monitoring device on all CDGI trucks.
Liability is commonly being placed on carriers and managers of trucking firms. It is important for us to follow the regulations and equally important to make sure those that we are responsible for are doing the same. We need to audit our driver’s logs and communicate with them on any variances.
We audit our driver’s logs weekly and try to communicate to our drivers what they are doing right, along with any adjustments they need to make to stay safe and in compliance. I think it’s a simple task, yet it is important to give constant feedback, and that takes a concerted effort.
Down the Road – Mike
Road Knowledge 