We guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise: The Alabama company whose truck was involved in a Kentucky crash that killed 11 people, mostly members of a Mennonite family, has lousy safety grades from federal regulators. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hLwSxXtdifP0CI2hAcp3nu-NSl-QD9EPPJ7O0
According to the Associated Press, Hester Inc. had received a “deficient” rating of 88.4, with 100 being the worse score, from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. That low grade was based on inspections of 30 drivers during the past 30 months.
A Hester tractor-trailer truck driven by Kennenth Laymon, 45, of Jasper, Ala., went over a median on Interstate 65 Friday and hit a van carrying a Mennonite family to a wedding in Iowa. Ten people in the 15-seat van were killed, as was Laymon.
Laymon’s truck had been cited for problems with its brakes, lights and brakes during six inspections since 2008, according to AP.
An official with the American Trucking Association maintained that Hester should not have been in business operating based on its low safety score.
What the point of having safety testing if companies that don’t past muster are still allowed to have their trucks on the road?