The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will publish a rule next week containing tough new penalties against carriers that ignore safety rules.

Under the Patterns of Safety Violations Rule, the agency will be able to shut down a truck or bus company with a history of violating federal safety regulations on purpose.  

The rule is one of the new enforcement tools that the agency has developed in recent years to target high-risk carriers that endanger travelers by avoiding or covering up their negative history of safety compliance.

More details coming as soon as FMCSA publishes the new rule.