A fatal tour bus crash last month on a Bronx highway left 15 people dead. Since then, state transportation has cracked down on bus safety, taking 124 bus drivers and 96 buses off of New York roads. Authorities say that since the heightened enforcement and investigation began, police have issued over 150 moving violation tickets to bus drivers.
The two most common problems cited by investigators involved drivers who lied about getting enough rest, and buses with faulty brakes. One of the more egregious offenses was a bus in North Carolina where the driver had falsified his log book. Another alarming discovery was a driver who was operating a bus without a commercial driver’s license, and without a certificate showing that he had passed a required federal Department of Transportation exam. To add insult to injury, this driver’s bus had a leak in the brake hose, leaking engine fluid and transmission fluid, a loose battery, and a dead light over the rear license plate.
The National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C. stated that its administration is now “aggressively enforcing the law,” operating under a zero tolerance policy and sidelining unsafe drivers and equipment. “New Yorkers [need to] have confidence in the safety of the public transportation system,” the governor said in a recent statement.
If you have been injured in a bus accident in New York, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact the experienced bus accident attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, PC today to schedule a free initial consultation.
