U.S. Department of Transportation

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced that Blue and White Lines, Inc., of Altoona, Pa., has been assessed a civil penalty of $90,000 for violating federal motor carrier safety regulations.

"These penalties convey a simple message: we're serious about safety, and we won't tolerate unnecessary risk for passengers and other motorists," Acting FMCSA Deputy Administrator Julie Anna Cirillo said.

The charges stem from an investigation after a crash on Nov. 21, 1999 in which four buses carrying Pennsylvania State University students home from New York collided on Interstate 80 in Kidder Township, Carbon County, Pa. The accident resulted in 2 fatalities and 106 injuries.

All three buses belonging to Blue and White Lines and involved in this crash were found to have mechanical defects meeting the North American Standard Vehicle Out-of-Service Criteria. "Out-of-Service" is an FMCSA term used to describe the act of taking a motor vehicle off the road that is likely to cause an accident or breakdown because of its poor mechanical condition or unsafe load.

Inspection of the buses involved in the accident and further investigation, including inspections of other buses operated by Blue and White Lines, revealed numerous violations of the federal motor carrier safety regulations, including the following:

• One violation for operating a commercial motor vehicle equipped with axle positioning parts cracked, broken, loose, or missing.
• Four violations for failing to ensure that brake hoses are suitably secured against chafing, kinking, or other mechanical damage.
• One violation for operating a commercial motor vehicle equipped with tires having fabric or cords exposed through the tread or sidewall.
• Four violations for failing to inspect and maintain a motor vehicle to ensure safe and proper operating condition (brakes out of adjustment).

This investigation was conducted by special agents of the FMCSA who were under the direction of FMCSA's Pennsylvania State Director Patrick Quigley. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Pennsylvania State Police assisted in the investigation.

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