The Nebraska State Patrol has issued a large fine against a Nebraska garbage company for a number of violations.
The Patrol's Carrier Enforcement Division assessed $331,920.00 in penalties against Von Busch and Sons Inc. of Lincoln, NE.
The investigation into the company came after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) produced a list in which Von Busch and Sons Inc. was listed as a carrier with severe problems involving maintenance and operation of commercial vehicles. Additionally, on February 15, 2018, the company was involved in a one vehicle fatality accident, which killed a worker and furthered concerns of the company’s safety practices. In that crash, one of the garbage company's collectors was on the back of a truck when it slid on ice and hit a tree. The employee, 47 year old James Baker, died as a result of the crash.
The investigation showed that Von Busch and Sons Inc. had been fined before and minimal corrective action was taken. Prior to the most recent action, Von Busch and Sons Inc. had been the subject of seven separate compliance reviews from 2002 to 2016 that yielded a number of safety violations, mainly stemming from the lack of maintenance being conducted on the vehicles.
After the most recent compliance review, NSP investigators requested that Von Busch and Sons Inc. submit documentation that they were making changes to improve the safety of operations in their company. Von Busch and Sons Inc. did submit an action plan; however, within a month of receiving the plan investigators followed up with the company and found that insufficient actions had been taken to correct the violations found in the compliance review.
NSP Carrier Enforcement Investigators discovered 453 violations involving controlled substance and alcohol testing, vehicle maintenance, and driver qualification requirements.
Investigators will continue to monitor the progress that Von Busch and Sons Inc. is making to improve safety operations in their company.