At the request of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon has issued a temporary restraining order against Oregon-based bus company RC Investments Inc. that prohibits the company from operating in or affecting interstate passenger transportation service. FMCSA says the request was based on evidence that RC Investments was conducting bus trips in direct violation of the agency’s previous orders to immediately cease all transportation operations.
FMCSA says it initially revoked RC Investments’ operating authority and ordered its officers to shut down all transportation operations effective Aug. 29 after a review of the company’s safety compliance led to an unsatisfactory safety rating. The agency found that RC Investments failed to use properly licensed drivers and implement a driver drug and alcohol testing program, and that it failed to regularly inspect its vehicles and ensure that its drivers are medically qualified.
FMCSA says that on Nov. 10 it found RC Investments buses to still be operating, declared RC Investments an imminent hazard to the public and again ordered the company to shut down. The discovery was made during a nationwide crackdown on unsafe bus operators, part of FMCSA’s annual Passenger Carrier Safety Inspection Strike Force, where federal, state and local police conducted more than 8,000 surprise safety inspections of motorcoaches, tour buses, school buses and other commercial passenger vehicles over a two-week period.
“This temporary restraining order makes the agency’s shut-down orders against RC Investments enforceable by the court,” says FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro.
