As the spring season gets under way, many Texas residents and tourists will be looking to busing companies to help assist them get to their vacation destinations. Many of these companies offer a convenient and cheap alternative to driving your personal vehicle.
However, safety should be your primary consideration. The U.S. DOT Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently conducted close to 3,000 surprise passenger carrier safety inspections and ended up removing nearly 300 buses and drivers from our roadways because of failed inspections. Poor maintenance, old buses, tired drivers and other issues can cause an increased risk of a bus accident in Dallas and elsewhere in the United States.
Our Dallas personal injury lawyers understand that bus travel may be more convenient for many as families can use these services to make their trips less expensive, less stressful and more relaxing. We, however, urge you to look at the number of under-qualified buses and drivers in the area and carefully think through you decision. While it is the sole responsibility of the busing company to keep you safe on their bus, they may very well be more concerned with maximizing profits. Low-fare carriers are under particular scrutiny — older buses and tired drivers are often the norm.
“Working side-by-side with our state and local law enforcement partners, we can ensure that every passenger bus company and driver operates as safely as possible,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “These strike force activities are one of the many effective tools we use year-round to raise the safety bar for commercial buses and drivers on our nation’s roadways.”
In fact, they cannot “ensure” anything. This string of surprise inspections comes after numerous busing accidents took the lives of many passengers, including the New York City bus accident that killed 14 passengers. These accidents raised a lot of questions about passenger safety. The most common answer to the lack of safety concern for passengers was directly related to the price of travel.
The fact that 1 in 10 buses inspected had safety concerns so acute that they were not allowed to continue to their destination should give every bus passenger pause. And should tell you all you need to know about the overall enforcement efforts of the federal government.
The Obama Administration proposed many long-needed improvements to motorcoach safety through a new Motorcoach Safety Action Plan in 2009. With these new safety measures and the rules enlisted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), bus companies are now required to come equipped with electronic on-board recorders and seat belts. These electronic on-board recorders are meant to replace the old-style paper recording systems that allowed drivers to falsify their hours — which increases the odds of drowsy and overworked drivers. Drowsiness proved to be one of the main contributors to these fatal bus accidents.
As hundreds of tour buses will make their way through our state each week, it is important that we hold the companies accountable for providing passengers with safe and reliable transportation.
If you or a family member is hurt in a Dallas bus accident, contact Dallas Injury Attorney Mike Goolsby for a free consultation to discuss your rights. Call (972) 394-2141. Serving Dallas, Carrollton and the surrounding areas.
