An 18-wheeler truck driver was arrested at the northbound Port of Entry weigh station on I-25 in Fort Collins, Colorado after holding 2 state employees hostage at knife point. Authorities say a knife-wielding man briefly held 2 state employees hostage at a Northern Colorado weigh station after being told to park his truck overnight. Police arrested the 49 year old truck driver of Columbia, SC.
Authorities say the 18-wheeler driver held the men at knifepoint for about 10 minutes after he was issued a citation and told to park his truck. He was arrested on kidnapping charges and taken to jail.
The reason the truck driver was told to park his truck was because he was over his allowed hours of drive time. Under Federal law, drivers are allowed to drive just so much. Under current federal regulations, there are 2 cumulative driving time rules – one allows truck drivers to drive 60 hours in 7 consecutive days; and the second allows them to drive 70 hours in 8 consecutive days. To restart the 60 or 70 hour clock, they must have at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. No driver is allowed to drive more than 11 cumulative hours following 10 consecutive hours off.
The FMCSA web site shows that in the past 30 months, the motor carrier of the truck driver has had 36 out-of-service violations for exceeding the 11-hour driving limit and 40 out-of-service violations for exceeding the 14-hour on duty limit. The FMCSA SafeStat shows the trucking company has a deficient Driver Safety Evaluation. Thanks for getting this trucker off the Interstate.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
