News Release

July 27, 2006

KCC assesses $79,500 in fines against 35 motor carriers

The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) assessed $79,500 in fines and penalties against 35 motor carriers for violations of Commission rules and regulations during the fourth-quarter of the state’s fiscal year 2006 (April 1, 2006 – June 30, 2006). The violations were discovered during Safety Compliance Audits of 144 motor carriers performed by the Commission’s Transportation Division

The Commission has fined the following motor carriers:

• The Appliance Mart Inc., Garden City, Kans. $1,000 for two safety violations. The violations include allowing or requiring a driver to complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report and for failure to maintain a current motor vehicle record for each driver employed.
• B-C Steel LLC, Yates Center, Kans. $2,500 for three safety violations. The violations include allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce without operating authority and without completing a driver vehicle inspection report, and for failure to maintain driver record of duty status reports and supporting documentation for a period of six-months.
• Foltz Excavating Inc., Garden City, Kans. $5,000 for six safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, maintain driver qualification files for each driver, require driver’s to prepare record of duty status reports, maintain minimum records of inspection and vehicle maintenance, and allowing or requiring a driver to complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report and operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection.
• Harvest Dairy Distributors Inc., Wichita, Kans. $500 for allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection.
• Holland Paving Inc., Wichita, Kans. $4,000 for five safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, failure to require driver’s to prepare record of duty status reports, allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a valid medical examiners certificate, and without completing a vehicle inspection report.
• Donald Holzmeister d.b.a. Holzmeister Trucking Grinnell, Kans. $2,000 for two safety violations. The violations include allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle more then the allowed 70 hours in 8 consecutive days and more then 14 hours without being off-duty 10 hours.
• Homestead Manufactured Housing Inc., Fort Scott, Kans. $1,500 for two safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed and for allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection.
• Industrial Metals Warehousing & Trading Inc., Wichita, Kans. $1,000 for failure to maintain driver qualification files for each driver employed.
• J Gruber Trucking d.b.a. KB Inc., Topeka, Kans. $7,500 for four safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, failure to maintain driver qualification files for each driver employed, failure to require driver’s to prepare record of duty status reports, and allowing or requiring a driver to complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report.
• Kanza Cooperative Association, Iuka, Kans. $4,500 for five safety violations. The violations include failure to maintain driver qualification files for each driver employed, failure to require driver’s to prepare record of duty status reports, allowing or requiring a driver to complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report, to operate a commercial motor vehicle in intrastate commerce without operating authority, and to transport hazardous material without documentation of hazardous material training for each driver.
• K & S Trucking Inc., Leoti, Kans. $500 for allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without first having a valid medical examiners certificate.
• Todd Lacen d.b.a. Lacen Enterprises, Columbus, Kans. $500 for allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection.
• Lee Construction Inc., Garden City, Kans. $3,500 for five safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, failure to require driver’s to prepare record of duty status reports, allowing or requiring a driver to complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report, operate a commercial motor vehicle in intrastate commerce without operating authority, and operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection.
• Gerald Long, St. John, Kans. $5,000 for five safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, maintain driver qualification files, and allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle in excess of the maximum gross weight allowed by law, operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection, and for improperly using a farm registered vehicle.
• Lacinda Masters d.b.a. C & C Miller Enterprise, Scott City, Kans. $1,000 for failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed.
• Mead Building Centers Inc., Liberal, Kans. $2,500 for four safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, maintain driver qualification files for each driver employed, allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection, improperly using a farm registered vehicle, and complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report.
• Shon Meschberger d.b.a. S & M Farms, Stafford, Kans. $3,500 for four safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, maintain driver qualification files for each driver, allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection, and improperly using a farm registered vehicle.
• Mid Kan Field Services Inc., Lyons, Kans. $500 for allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a valid medical examiners certificate.
• Brad D. Mitchell, Lakin, Kans. $500 for failure to forward records of duty status reports to the designee place of business.
• Northeast Transit Inc. d.b.a. N.E.T. Inc., Onaga, Kans. $2,000 for two safety violations. The violations include failure to maintain driver qualification files for each driver employed and to require driver’s to prepare record of duty status reports.
• Painter & Maute Inc., Baxter Springs, Kans. $500 for failure to maintain a current motor vehicle record for each driver employed.
• Roger Patteson d.b.a. Patteson Gas Co., Moline, Kans. $1,000 for two safety violations. The violations include allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a valid medical examiners certificate and without a periodic inspection.
• Danny E. Patton d.b.a. Patton Tank Service, Clearwater, Kans. $1,500 for two safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed and for allowing or requiring a driver to complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report.
• Quality Hay, L.L.C. Lakin, Kans. $4,500 for six safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, maintain a current motor vehicle record for each driver, maintain driver record of duty status reports and supporting documentation for a period of six-months, require driver’s to prepare record of duty status reports, and allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle more then the allowed 60 hours in 7 consecutive days, and for allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection.
• Jeff Ralls d.b.a. Jeff Ralls Trucking, Wichita, Kans. $1,500 for two safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed and failure to maintain driver qualification files for each driver.
• Tim Ratzlaff d.b.a. Tim Ratzlaff Trucking, Moundridge, Kans. $1,000 for failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed.
• Sky Copters Inc., Ulysses, Kans. $1,000 for failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed.
• South West Truck & Auto Towing & Repair Inc., Garden City, Kans. $3,000 for four safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, maintain a current motor vehicle record for each driver, require drivers to prepare record of duty status reports, and allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection.
• Ross E. Spohn & Effie D. Spohn d.b.a. S & S Trucking Scott City, Kans. $2,000 for two safety violations. The violations include allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle more then 11 hours without being off-duty 10 consecutive hours and allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle after being on duty more than 14 hours without being off-duty 10 hours.
• S & S Pipe & Steel, Ness City, Kans. $1,000 for failure to maintain driver record of duty status reports and supporting documentation for a period of six-months.
• Ryan Studer d.b.a. Studer Harvesting, Goodland, Kans. $4,500 for six safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, require drivers to prepare record of duty status reports, mark the commercial motor vehicle with legal name or USDOT number, maintain driver qualification files for each driver employed, and allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection, without operating authority.
• Terry Talbot & David Avery d.b.a. Tags Express, Penalosa, Kans. $1,000 for failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed.
• Tiede’s Line Construction Inc., Haysville, Kans. $3,000 for five safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, failure to provide controlled substance and alcohol testing data to subsequent employer, failure to maintain driver qualification files for each driver, allowing or requiring a driver to complete a trip without completing a driver vehicle inspection report and operate a commercial motor without operating authority.
• Topeka Metal Specialties Inc., Topeka, Kans. $1,000 for failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed.
• Boyd Volker, Stafford, Kans. $4,000 for five safety violations. The violations include failure to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substance testing program for each driver employed, failure to have a commercial driver’s license, failure to maintain driver qualification files for each driver, allowing or requiring a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a periodic inspection and for improperly using a farm registered vehicle.

The Transportation Division offers free compliance seminars. The seminars are held weekly on a rotating basis in Topeka, Hutchinson, Hays, and Garden City. The seminars, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and lasting approximately two hours, are presented by the Commission’s Transportation Division staff and are designed to help Motor Carriers comply with Safety and Economic Regulations. The seminar schedule is available on the Commission’s website at www.kcc.state.ks.us or by calling 785 271-3231.

The KCC Transportation Division is responsible for regulating public and private motor carriers in Kansas. The Commission’s goal is to ensure appropriate and effective regulation and oversight of motor carriers and protect the public interest and safety.