LaHood outlines new bus safety measures

[May 05, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- It would be harder for tour bus companies to win permission to operate and easier for the government to put rogue operators out of business under a series of bus safety steps announced Thursday by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Other proposals announced by LaHood would make it easier for the government to take away bus drivers' commercial licenses if they violate drug and alcohol laws while operating a vehicle other than a bus or if they fail to pay fines.

Attention to bus safety by Transportation Department officials and members of Congress has been heightened since the March 12 crash of a bus returning to New York City's Chinatown after an overnight excursion to a Connecticut casino. Fifteen people were killed when the bus -- which safety investigators say was traveling at its maximum possible speed of 78 mph -- toppled off an elevated highway and struck a utility pole, peeling off its roof.

A passenger has said the driver fell asleep; the driver has said he was alert and well-rested. The accident is being investigated by the New York state police, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board.

The department also said Thursday it has made final previous proposals to tighten requirements for issuing a commercial driver's license. Drivers now will have to first obtain a special learner's permit before they can obtain a license. State licensing agencies will also be required to use a testing system that meets national standards.

And the use of foreign language interpreters during testing will be prohibited to reduce the potential for fraud, the department said.

The new proposals would require bus companies to pass a safety audit before receiving federal permission to operate. The audit would include an interview with the company's owners and a safety examination of the company's drivers and vehicles.

Penalties for operating buses without federal permission would increase from $2,000 a day to as much as $25,000.

The department also would have greater authority to pursue enforcement action against unsafe "reincarnated" or "chameleon" companies, which are operations that go out of business in one location after being cited for safety violations and reopen in another location under a new name.

But missing from LaHood's list of safety measures are requirements that buses be equipped with seat belts and have reinforced roofs and windows. Safety experts say if buses had to meet those requirements, most now-fatal accidents would be survivable.

Last year, the department proposed requiring seat belts on new buses. The proposal, which doesn't apply to buses already on the road, hasn't been made final.

[Associated Press; By JOAN LOWY]

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