|
Remarks by Anne S. Ferro
FMCSA Administrator
I-95 Motorcoach Bus Safety Press Conference
New York, NY
May 31, 2012 Introduction
Thank you, Secretary LaHood and Senator Schumer for your strong highway safety leadership.
True to Secretary LaHood's call to action, at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration bus and truck safety is our ONE and ONLY mission. What FMCSA Has Done
One year ago to this day, a North Carolina-based bus company was involved in a tragic crash on I-95 in Virginia that killed four passengers. That crash and other fatal bus crashes along the I-95 corridor led our agency to conduct this unprecedented one-year investigation into dangerous and illegal bus companies operating in violation of our basic safety standards.
These cases came about through extensive information collected by FMCSA safety investigators and inspection data collected by state law enforcement partners during multiple bus safety strike forces and investigations over recent years. Through the course of our investigations our enforcement teams found multiple patterns of serious safety violations by three networks of enterprises that have deliberately structured their operations to dodge federal laws. Each time we shut them down in the past, the 3 networks used loopholes to re-create themselves, or reincarnate. The companies, which combined carry almost 2000 people per day, showed flagrant disregard for the public's safety by using: - Drivers without valid commercial driver's licenses or medical qualification certificates;
- Drivers who have not been properly drug tested;
- Drivers who had exceeded the maximum number of hours they could drive;
- Buses mechanically unsafe and in disrepair.
Conclusion
Through true grit and sheer determination of an extraordinary investigative team, today is a watershed day for America's bus passengers, who expect and deserve to arrive safely at their destination every trip, every time.
We salute those in the bus industry who meet this basic expectation by following safety rules of the road. To those who think they can cut corners to make a buck at the expense of their customers' safety, we have cut off your routes to operating in the bus industry.
|
