FMCSA rejected Swift Transportation Co. Inc.'s request to dismiss $37,440 in proposed fines ordered after an investigation into allegations that drivers falsified safety records, The Arizona Republic reported.

But on June 16, a Swift request to have the case referred to a U.S. Department of Transportation administrative law judge was granted.

Assistant Administrator John Hill of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said that once the judge rules on the fines, a decision would be made on Swift's safety rating.

Swift has said a lower rating could cause the $2.4 billion trucking giant to lose business.

The FMCSA, part of the DOT, began investigating Swift in August 2003, in part over questions about the company's accidents. Swift, on average, is involved in a fatal wreck every 12 days and is involved in an injury accident nearly every day, according to the most recent FMCSA records.

In October, the agency issued an audit that recommended Swift's safety rating be downgraded after inspectors found 87 drivers had falsified logbooks, which track the hours a trucker is on the road.

Swift, a long-haul carrier with nearly 20,000 drivers, has denied the allegations and says in legal filings the logbook charges "are not supported by substantial evidence." Swift's fatality and crash rates are below the national average.