A former U.S. DOT safety investigator now working as a safety consultant has been sentenced for falsifying logbooks to keep a client out of trouble with the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The client motor carrier, Mabe Trucking of Eden, NC, and its owner were also sentenced and fined.

According to the DOT’s Office of Inspector General, on June 15, 2012, in U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina, James J. “Jim” Brylski was sentenced to 12 months of probation and was fined $3,000 and a $100 special assessment. Bryski is the owner of DOT Advisor Inc., a motor carrier consulting firm in Raleigh, NC.

Brylski is a former safety investigator for FMCSA in the Raleigh office.

“That’s the same office that investigated him,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Cliff Barrett told Land Line.  

Brylski’s LinkedIn profile shows he worked for the DOT from 1987 to 1999, at which time he started DOT Advisor Inc.

DOT Advisor Inc boasts on its website, “We can keep you driving.”

The sentencing follows Brylski’s guilty plea for the falsification of drivers’ records of duty status while working as a safety consultant to Mabe Trucking Co. OIG’s investigation revealed that Brylski falsified driver’s logs in order to conceal the number of hours driven from the FMCSA. He was charged by the U.S. Attorney with falsifying the company’s logbooks from prior to 2007 through March 2010.

Roger Dale (Butch) Mabe Jr., 49, president and owner of Mabe Trucking, was also charged with falsifying the company’s logbooks. Mabe was sentenced to one-year probation and fined $2,000 plus $100 assessment. He is required to cooperate with the FMCSA.

Mabe Trucking was placed on probation for five years and fined $8,000 plus $400 assessment. The company is required to install and activate electronic on-board recorders in all company-owned vehicles, at its own expense.

“It’s unfortunate that the court is finding a false sense of security in believing that electronic on-board recorders will deter offenses such as those committed by the former inspector,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer said. “The criminal element bent on running illegally will always find a way to appear legal, be it on paper or electronically.”

Mabe Trucking is also required to allow FMCSA legal authority to have unannounced access to equipment, land and buildings.

FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System reveals that of Mabe’s 160 trucks and 200 drivers, violations in the last two years include 15 instances of driving more than 11 hours, 22 occurrences of driving after 14 hours on duty, three cases of breaking the 60/70 hour rule, 13 log violations, one occasion of no record of duty status, four instances of false logbooks, 37 incidents of logbooks not current, and six occurrences of drivers failing to retain the previous seven days’ logs.

Mabe Trucking’s FMCSA BASIC score for unsafe driving during the same period is a 90.5 percent, and its fatigued driving score is 66.6 percent. Out of 232 vehicle inspections, 24 percent were put out of service.