June 29, 2016 at 6:55 pm
The violations cited by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission include the fraudulent altering of the medical-certification cards of two drivers as well as 111 instances where drivers with expired cards drove passengers.
Professional Transportation, a company that shuttles railroad crews in Washington state to and from job sites, has been fined $170,900 by state regulators for more than 300 repeat violations of state and federal safety regulations.
The violations cited by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission include the fraudulent altering of the medical-certification cards of two drivers as well as 111 instances where drivers with expired cards drove passengers.
The commission, in a written statement, said drivers without this certification may be driving with undocumented medical conditions, and called the certification “fundamental to safe transportation operations.”
Just last year, the commission found the company had committed 324 violations of medical certification and vehicle-safety rules, and the new violations result from a follow-up investigation.
This year’s review also found that the company did not have certified inspectors complete annual inspections of the company’s fleet, which is a violation of state safety rules.
During a hearing, Professional Transportation, which is based in Evansville, Ind., did not dispute the violations but an official said there are new procedures now to keep such violations from happening again.
A company official reached by The Seattle Times on Wednesday said a statement about the fines would be released later and declined to comment further.
In Washington, the company carries crews for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific. When asked to comment on the fine against the carrier, BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said “we will be reviewing this further.”
Railroad crews are required to accept transport from Professional Transportation as a condition of employment. Since 2013, the company has been involved in three serious injury accidents, according to the state commission.
The safety of crew-transport companies has been a high-profile issue for railroad union officials, who have unsuccessfully lobbied the state Legislature in recent years to increase regulation.
Their concerns intensified in the aftermath of a 2011 accident involving a transport company called Coach America in which three people died after a vehicle was hit by a train in the Kelso area.
“We need to know that these workers are qualified to do their job,” said Mike Elliott, assistant to the chairman of the Washington State Legislative Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. “What our members are telling us is that the most dangerous part of their jobs is riding in these vehicles. That tells us there is a problem.”