The FMCSA has deemed a truck driver a “hazard to public safety” and permanently banned him from driving commercial vehicles after his involvement in an accident that killed another trucker.
Truck driver Earnest Paul Biddwell was served the federal order on Monday, October 30th.
According to the FMCSA Press Release, back on August 3rd, 2017, Bidwell was driving his semi truck on Tennessee State Route 305 in McMinn County, Tennessee when the trailer separated from the tractor and slid across the center line.
The detached trailer then struck a semi truck in the opposite lane and sent it crashing into a ditch and partially up an embankment, where it flipped.
The driver of the overturned semi truck, 53-year-old John. H. Hubbard, died in the accident.
Biddwell was not hurt and continued to drive without a trailer until he was pulled over by police officers. The officers then discovered controlled substances inside the cab of his truck.
At the time of the crash, Biddwell tested positive for controlled substances and did not possess a valid medical certificate. Biddwell was also driving on a revoked CDL, meaning that, at the time of the crash, Biddwell’s CDL was not valid, and he would have had to completely retake the test in order to receive a new, valid CDL.
The Tennessee Department of Safety then conducted a post-crash inspection of Biddwell’s tractor and trailer and discovered 6 out-of-service violations. These violations included deficiencies in braking components, as well as improper breakaway/emergency braking equipment, improper fuel tank construction, lighting devices, and reflective components.
On top of the wreck and multiple violations, in 2015 and 2016, Biddwell was “cited four times for violations of records-of-duty status (RODS) and three times for operating a commercial vehicle equipped with a radar detector.”
Then, In June and July of 2017, his RODS “showed him operating in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas and Missouri,” and even “falsely named two motor carriers for whom he was driving.”
“In fact,” the report reads, “Biddwell was not employed or operating on behalf of either motor carrier.”
After consideration of all these factors by the FMCSA, Biddwell was given an imminent hazard out-of-service order stating that his “continued operation of a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce… substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death to you and the motoring public if not discontinued immediately,” meaning he will never again be allowed to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License or operate a commercial motor vehicle.
Bidwell was arrested shortly after the crash and charged with vehicular homicide. He was also cited for driving on a revoked license and not having a valid medical card, as well as leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.