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I-95 Bowling Green,VA.,Tour Bus rollover killed 4

Bus driving, like truck driving, at one time was a proud professional. Only the "cream of the crop" was ever hired. The two major bus companies, Greyhound and Trailways did most of the charter and tour work. There were only a handful of "fly by night" bus companies, but here comes deregulation and like the trucking industry, the caliber of drivers has gone "south". When I drove for Carolina Trailways, the discipline was equal to being in the military. You even got time off for getting out of the bus without the cap on your head. Look at the "slobs" driving buses today. Most of the small bus companies pick up people who are retired and put them behind the wheel of a bus hauling 50 some people. A school teacher. a retired factory worker, or I even knew a retired banker that drove a tour bus. The bus companies get what they pay for, as trucking companies.

One thing that sticks in my "rear", the HOS stayed the same for bus drivers. A bus driver can go on duty @3am and work until 3am the next day and never be in violation. A bus driver can "stop the clock". There are small bus companies around me that don't even have facilities to service and safety check the buses. When I was with Carolina Trailways, every time that a bus came into the shop, didn't matter if it had only gone 20 miles, it went through the service lanes and over the pit to be checked and greased.
 
update

Driver charged in fatal Virginia bus crash; company ordered out-of-service | WCNC.com Charlotte

Driver charged in fatal Virginia bus crash; company ordered out-of-service






Sky Express Bus Info

Driver Fatigue:Cited 13 times in April and May; 46 citations in last two yearsRankings:Worse than 86% of bus and truck companies for driver fatigue; Worse than 99.7% for driver fitnessCitations:14 times for non-English speaking driversSource:US DOT Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
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BOWLING GREEN, Va. (AP) -- A bus operated by a discount company with a particularly poor record of fatigued driving overturned on a Virginia highway before dawn Tuesday, killing four people and injuring more than 50 others.
 
The Best said:
Bus driving, like truck driving, at one time was a proud professional. Only the "cream of the crop" was ever hired. The two major bus companies, Greyhound and Trailways did most of the charter and tour work. There were only a handful of "fly by night" bus companies, but here comes deregulation and like the trucking industry, the caliber of drivers has gone "south". When I drove for Carolina Trailways, the discipline was equal to being in the military. You even got time off for getting out of the bus without the cap on your head. Look at the "slobs" driving buses today. Most of the small bus companies pick up people who are retired and put them behind the wheel of a bus hauling 50 some people. A school teacher. a retired factory worker, or I even knew a retired banker that drove a tour bus. The bus companies get what they pay for, as trucking companies.

One thing that sticks in my "rear", the HOS stayed the same for bus drivers. A bus driver can go on duty @3am and work until 3am the next day and never be in violation. A bus driver can "stop the clock". There are small bus companies around me that don't even have facilities to service and safety check the buses. When I was with Carolina Trailways, every time that a bus came into the shop, didn't matter if it had only gone 20 miles, it went through the service lanes and over the pit to be checked and greased.
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The beginning of the end for high quality bus drivers ended on March 1, 1990. When Greyhound locked out experienced and highly respected drivers in favor of "truck drivers" (I am a truck driver, but the two are completely different disiplines). When I see Greyhound drivers listening to I-pods, pulled into rest areas, or sloppy in appearance, all I can do is shake my head.

FULL DISCLOSURE: My father was one of the locked out drivers. He went to driving a truck and never looked back. As far as different disciplines, a Greyhound driver cannot pull of and take a nap when tired. Also, Freight is much easier to deal with than 50+ people literally looking over your shoulder.
 
I know that just from being a moderator on this forum,you won't see me or my wife riding any tour buses.
Trains,rental cars,and planes,,but no way on the buses.
 
Probably everyone knows now that the Federal Gov. shut this company down. I looked at their Safer report and since the first of the year, they have been caught 24 times for log violations. That is more than 4 per month. They should have been shut down months ago!
 
It's a American thing. Let something destructive (man made) occur MANY TIMES before approaching it to hopefully eliminate it. Look at Germany with ಠ▄ಠ and the Death Camps for one example and for another the time taken to get bin laden.
It's the main reason Traffic Lights are not installed at dangerous intersections until a specific or acceptable allowance of Lives are lost.
I'll bet THAT was the reason that bus company was allowed to continue operation regardless of Citations, Logbook Violations, Maintenance issues, etc., because up to that FATAL accident, no one had suffered anything egregious.

Wasn't there a FATAL BUS WRECK in Missouri on I-74 or was it in Alabama on I-59 in the 90s or 80s??
 
I think it's time for that NUMBNUT LaHOOD to mandate on board recorders on ALL COMMERCIAL BUSES along with computer logging. Enough is enough. All buses should be required to go thru the inspection/scale houses and routinely be spot checked there and on the roadside. He should also mandate that exam's for any commerical license will only be given in a written form and in ENGLISH, with NO interperter's allowed!
 
Thanks for posting this link The Best.
Almost unbelievable that the DOT can't regulate Tour Buses companies,as they sure have to problem hounding trucking companies.
 
As I live in central Fl, and travel up and down I95,I75 and across I10 frequently in my 65 mph company truck, I see these things blast past me 75-80 mph often inpacks of three or more. Everyone of them look like they have a lazer/radar detector in windshield. The drivers don't look very impressive as they weave in and out of traffic. The states are not going to crack down on these people citing the loss of tourist dollars. Everyone of these bues are required to have a USDOT# as they are for hire, all the feds have to do is pull the # if the company is not in complience. You read about bus accidents ALL the time 99% are tour buses. The excuse given by LaHood is lame at best, issue a order get it over with. Enough of this bureaucratic BS that the DOT/FMCSA is inflictied with: order that
ALL commercial buses have on board recorders
ALL commercial buses have electronic logging for it's drivers
Tighten the Rules for driver qualification
All buses will go thru inspection/scale houses and be subject to spot checking
NO PREPASS
 
Along with jeepman, ALL BUSES HAVE TO CROSS SCALES AND ALL BUSES ARE RESTRICTED FROM HAMMER/EXPRESS LANES.
Buses must adhere to the same restrictions as Trucks!

I agree wholeheartedly about mandates for EOBRs in Buses.
I agree wholeheartedly about mandates for Black Boxes on ALL Buses.

There are much fewer Buses and motorhomes than Tractor-Trailers!

For motorhome drivers: The License Classification should be a B or better WITH Passenger Endorsement AND a current Medical Certificate because motorhomes ARE NO LESS DANGEROUS than Buses and Trucks.
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Should any mandate be passed this year preventing Buses from extended use (beyond a limited driving/operation time for 1 driver like in Truck Driving), it would be nice and might well SAVE SOME LIVES.
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Thank You Hoosierky!!
 
Hoosierkey,
The guy that hit the church bus on I-71 near Carrolton,Ky.has served his 15 years and is out free. He went the wrong way down the Carrolton hill several miles the wrong way. He was Eastbound in the WB lanes when he hit the gas powered bus returning from Kings Island. The accident report that he shoved a RF spring leaf through the gas tank which was behind the entrance door and caused the fire. The kids all died stacked up against the rear door. The sign the state placed to mark the spot is still there.
 
Pigman 440 said:
Hoosierkey,
The guy that hit the church bus on I-71 near Carrolton,Ky.has served his 15 years and is out free. He went the wrong way down the Carrolton hill several miles the wrong way. He was Eastbound in the WB lanes when he hit the gas powered bus returning from Kings Island. The accident report that he shoved a RF spring leaf through the gas tank which was behind the entrance door and caused the fire. The kids all died stacked up against the rear door. The sign the state placed to mark the spot is still there.
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I go by that site occasionally. After all these years, still think about those kids coming back from Kings Island, only to die that way.
Not everything is 100% safe, and it will never be.We can however minimize the risks.
 
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