RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Federal regulations require motor carriers to conduct background investigations before hiring truckers, but the companies have wide discretion when deciding whether to hire someone with poor driving records or criminal convictions.
Court records examined by The Associated Press show the driver of an oversized rig that derailed an Amtrak train after it got stuck on the tracks in North Carolina this week is a convicted felon with a long history of traffic citations.
The driver failed to maneuver the rig through a railroad crossing in Halifax, North Carolina, on Monday, causing the derailment that injured 55 people.
There’s nothing in the federal regulations that prevents drivers with criminal records from getting a commercial license, as long as they didn’t commit the crimes while driving a truck.
Court records examined by The Associated Press show the driver of an oversized rig that derailed an Amtrak train after it got stuck on the tracks in North Carolina this week is a convicted felon with a long history of traffic citations.
The driver failed to maneuver the rig through a railroad crossing in Halifax, North Carolina, on Monday, causing the derailment that injured 55 people.
There’s nothing in the federal regulations that prevents drivers with criminal records from getting a commercial license, as long as they didn’t commit the crimes while driving a truck.
