Feds Shut Down Tucker Limo Service

A Tucker-based limousine service has been ordered by the Federal Government to cease all operations immediately due to safety violations, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Sacramento Bee, and other sources.

Best Limo Service, at 2179 Morris Avenue, was told April 26 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that numerous infractions were discovered during its latest inspection and that "its drivers and vehicles pose an imminent hazard to public safety," the report said. 

However, when reached by phone at noon on Friday, a Best Limo manager who would only identify himself as Lindell told Patch: "That's not so. We've been inspected just like everybody else," he said, and the business remains open.

When asked again if the report was true, Lindell responded, "not necessarily. We submitted some paperwork and we downed some buses. I don't know where that's coming from."

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a press release that "passenger carriers that fail to comply with federal safety regulations and put people's lives at risk will not be allowed to operate."

FMCSA's investigators discovered "serious regulatory violations demonstrating Best Limo Service's disregard for motor coach passenger safety," the report stated. "Drivers who had previously tested positive for a controlled substance, or who had a suspended commercial driver's license, were allowed by the company to transport passengers."

Best Limo Service's lack of oversight resulted in fatigued drivers being allowed to keep driving, the report also found, and the company's vehicle maintenance program was inadequate and posed an imminent hazard.

"Our FMCSA staff is working diligently as a team to move as quickly as possible in shutting down unsafe passenger carriers from coast to coast," added FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "We recognize the imperative of getting these operators off the road."