DOT Shuts Down More Bus Companies For Safety Violations
Posted on Thu, Jun 16, 2011 @ 10:14 AM
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has recently been
cracking down on bus companies. Four more bus companies have been shut down due to unsafe operation and other violations. Some companies that have been previously shut down are now attempting to reopen under new names. The DOT has taken care of these as well and is attempting to shut down others trying the same trick. The recent crackdown is mostly in response to a fatal crash involving a company that was to be shut down 2 days before the crash occurred.
The company was Sky Express and the DOT set out to shut them down on May 29th but the company was given 10 days to appeal. The crash, one of four accidents involving Sky Express in the past 2 years, took place in the early morning of the 31st and also took the lives of 4 passengers. The crash also left 54 injured and wondering why the company hadn’t been shut down before. Sky Express was issued a cease and desist for attempting to operate and sell tickets under different company names, including 108 Tours and 108 Bus. Sky Express was also cited for 46 violations for fatigued driving including three cases that were reported as serious. Drivers with Sky Express have been cited for 17 unsafe-driving violations, including eight speeding violations since 2009. The company is now shut down and certainly will not be operating again even under a different name.
The three other companies to be shut down were Haines Tour, United Tours Inc., JCT Motor Coach Inc. and its affiliate JT’s Travel & Charter Inc. of Atlanta. Haines had been cited for allowing passengers to ride in the luggage compartment as well as having unsecured luggage. The company was warned of the offense in August 2010, but was caught again in May for the same violation culminating in their out of service order. United Tours was using unqualified drivers and was also ordered to shut down. Lastly, JCT Motor Coach Inc. and JT’s Travel & Charter Inc. of Atlanta were shut down for trying to evade a previous out of service order given by the DOT. The companies were also caught using unqualified drivers and falsifying vehicle maintenance records.
This is the beginning of a larger crackdown on bus companies, especially companies charging unusually low rates like the ones mentioned above were. They charge lower rates because of the lack of safety that comes with these types of companies. In the past 5 years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has doubles the amount of bus inspections and comprehensive safety reviews. There are over 4,000 bus companies nationwide and they will be subject to more roadside inspections and compliance reviews; both of which have doubled in the past year.