“Safety Sweeps” in 13 States to Keep Buses Safe
Federal inspectors are running roadside bus inspections to ensure passengers are kept safe this summer as travel picks up. The inspections come as a result of several recent bus accidents and glaring violations and questionable practices among these bus companies.
According to USA Today, the sweeps began earlier this month when the National Transportation Safety Board released their findings in an investigation into the deadly casino tour bus crash last year.
The inspections are designed to keep both unsafe buses and unsafe drivers off the roads. They are focusing on 13 states including New York and New Jersey as well as Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
These buses have become more and more popular in recent years as travelers look for more inexpensive modes of transportation.
The inspections focus on mechanical problems on the actual buses and on the drivers, checking to make sure their paperwork is up to date, they are working the right number of hours to remain safe, and that they are “medically fit.” Continue reading
In Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Fatal Bus Accident, Driver & Company Had Prior Safety Problems
Investigative documents were released last week in the case of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway bus accident last year that killed 15 people and injured several others. According to the documents, as reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, this wasn’t the first problem for the bus company or the driver.
The accident occurred on March 12, 2011 as a bus full of passengers was returning from the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. The bus flipped on the Expressway, hitting a post which sheared off the roof of the bus.
According to initial investigations, the driver said that a tractor-trailer veered into his lane and ran the bus off the road. But investigators said they couldn’t find any evidence of this claim.
The National Transportation Safety Board found in their investigation that the driver had his license suspended 18 times in past years and had been fired from two previous transportation jobs. At the time of the accident, he was shuttling passengers to and from casinos multiple times daily, catching sleep when he could. On the morning of the tragic accident, he reportedly slept on the bus from midnight to about 3:20 a.m.
The company behind the bus was given an “unsatisfactory” rating by the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after the accident and has since shut down. Continue reading
New developments in New York City bus accident that left 15 dead
On the one-year anniversary of the New York City bus crash that left 15 people dead and injured 18 others, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it will meet on June 5 to determine the probable cause of the crash. Although the NTSB investigation into the bus accident is still in its final stages, early speculation about alcohol or drug use by the bus driver as a possible cause for the tragedy appears to have been without merit.
In addition to the driver’s negative toxicology test results for drugs and alcohol, NTSB investigators have also found no mechanical problems that would have prevented the driver from safely operating the tour bus prior to or during the crash sequence. The list of potential causes board members will be evaluating at the June 5 meeting includes driver error, highway surface or design defects, non-mechanical vehicle factors and motor carrier oversight failures. Continue reading