Surprise Inspections by FMCSA Removes 289 Unsafe Passenger Buses and Drivers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) partnered with state law enforcement agencies recently to conduct nearly 3,000 surprise inspections which resulted in 289 unsafe bus drivers or commercial buses removed from the nation’s highways. During March 28 through April 6, the unannounced inspections resulted in out-of-service violation citations to be issued to 156 drivers and 262 vehicles. The agency says it is trying to raise the safety bar for commercial passenger bus companies. The agency says that the number of safety inspections has doubled from 2005 (12,991) to 2010 (25,703). At the same time, fatalities among passengers on commercial buses have decreased 19 percent from 57 in 2004 to 46 in 2009.
New rules proposed in 2009 under the Motorcoach Safety Action Plan would require seat belts on commercial buses and place electronic on-board recorders on each bus to replace paper logs which can be easily falsified. Of concern are drivers exceeding rules limiting the time behind the wheel and drivers who do not meet mandatory health requirements.
In another safety move, the DOT has banned the use of texting by drivers and has initiated a rule to ban all cell phone use by drivers.
The Florida bus accident lawyers at the Farah & Farah law firm have been advocating for those injured on the roadways by negligent drivers and defective automobiles for more than 30 years. Let us advocate for you if you or a loved one is involved in a serious accident.
