bus crash 5 miles from my home.

[desi arnaz]

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Tour+bus+overturns+on+Interstate+93%3b+23+injured&articleId=0644aa1b-a79e-4365-b49a-612ab7ef6de5

[Busted Knuckle]

Man I just wish they'd stop it already!
 BK  

[artvonne]

  No kidding. And really, I bet many of the injured passengers were not belted in. How responsible are they for their own injuries if they refuse to buckle up?

[belfert]

Most buses do not have seat belts so pretty hard to buckle up.  I don't think seat belts are standard yet on new buses.  I believe they are still optional.

[buswarrior]

The problem is a business model that is non-compliant with industry practices and legislated statute.

Coaches that are effectively ungoverned, driving schedules that defy hours of service, little to no maintenance, or facilities in which to do it.

Training, due diligence on background checks, quality assurance checks, follow-up on incidents, all missing.

Driver professionalism discouraged: no rest facilities provided for a driver who has to drive overnight, low pay, back to back shifting, work shifts scheduled around the clock, no regard to the facts of the human condition in work/rest/sleep cycles, disregard for hours of service, completely in some cases, constant threat to losing one's job for reporting anything wrong. And the deep secret of financial penalties for being late, or otherwise tarnishing the company's "image"...

JUST DRIVE, as FAST as it will go,  OR BE FIRED.

a sad existence, to be sure.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Len Silva]

The problem is a business model that is non-compliant with industry practices and legislated statute.

Coaches that are effectively ungoverned, driving schedules that defy hours of service, little to no maintenance, or facilities in which to do it.

Training, due diligence on background checks, quality assurance checks, follow-up on incidents, all missing.

Driver professionalism discouraged: no rest facilities provided for a driver who has to drive overnight, low pay, back to back shifting, work shifts scheduled around the clock, no regard to the facts of the human condition in work/rest/sleep cycles, disregard for hours of service, completely in some cases, constant threat to losing one's job for reporting anything wrong. And the deep secret of financial penalties for being late, or otherwise tarnishing the company's "image"...

JUST DRIVE, as FAST as it will go,  OR BE FIRED.

a sad existence, to be sure.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

I agree 100%, but I am not among the apparent majority here who believe we already have too much regulation.

Regulations cost money, regulations increase the "size of government", and regulations save lives.

Seems like a pretty simple matter of priorities.

[luvrbus]

It will be something to watch they have started already people that fly home on the taxpayers dime in Gulf Stream Jets writing laws for buses LOL what a joke 

good luck

[belfert]

I agree 100%, but I am not among the apparent majority here who believe we already have too much regulation.

Regulations cost money, regulations increase the "size of government", and regulations save lives.

Regulations for most of these issues already exist.  How many drivers already fudge their logbook or keep one copy for them and one for DOT?  How many vehicles are run with conditions that would take them out of service if the DOT inspected it?  The issue here is operators figure it is cheaper to pay a fine when stopped then to follow the rules.

One problem in the truck/bus industry is paying drivers by the mile.  They drive fast to get higher hourly pay.  Drivers tend to be relatively low paid so they want to run as many miles/hours in a day as they can.  A driver away from home can either sit in their sleeper or at a truck stop being bored or they drive more to make more money since they are away from home anyhow.

From time to time there are proposals to require some sort of electronic devices in commercial vehicles so drivers can't fudge log books.

[Len Silva]

I never knew that!  It seems nothing short of insane to pay a bus driver by the mile.  It's bad enough that OTR drivers get paid that way but it certainly should not apply to buses or local trucks.

A few years ago I lived in North Central Florida where there was a rash of dump truck accidents from a large road project.  They were being paid by the ton-mile, thus over weight and speeding.  The powers that be insisted on a different method of paying drivers and the accident rate fell over night.

The problem with regulations is even where the laws exist, enforcement is expensive and we the people are often not willing to pay the price.

[billy6941]

I can't speak for anyone but myself about driving conditions in the tour bus industry. I have been driving for 14 years, 11 with my present company and in that time nothing serious has happened and we have coaches on the road year round. We have an excellent maintenance crew, coaches that are kept up and good drivers. The company has 33 coaches, a combination of J4500's and E4500's. We have our own section in the DOT manual, which allows us to be on duty 20 hrs in a day and to drive 15 hrs, up to a maximum of 80 hrs in 8 days. I have never  had to be on duty or drive for that many hrs. We tour throughout Alaska and Western Canada, with a lot of short trips around Anchorage and Fairbanks. IMHO, the best tour company in the US....Bill

[belfert]

I never knew that!  It seems nothing short of insane to pay a bus driver by the mile.  It's bad enough that OTR drivers get paid that way but it certainly should not apply to buses or local trucks.

I don't how many bus drivers are paid by the mile.  I know a lot get a day rate or even an hourly rate, but I am sure some must be paid by the mile.  I guess I was just lumping together all truck and bus drivers who get paid by the mile.

I've heard of some linehaul bus drivers only getting around $100 a day.  That would be $26,000 a year if one worked five days a week.  Not a whole lot to live on.

[luvrbus]

Brian, I don't think good drivers work for a 100 bucks a day my friend owns Swift Transportation In Phoenix I heard drivers start at around .31 cents after 5 years get over .40 per mile that is over 200 bucks a day and they get all kinds of bonuses to go along with that they do ok 


good luck

[desi arnaz]

i went to see the bus this afternoon, unfortunately i couldn't get close enough to take a photo. the side looked almost perfect only missing all the windows and the front top window was missing. looks like it could hit the road for travel at any time.

[fe2_o3]

"The crash is being investigated by Trooper Eric Piche of Troop F"

It's gonna be alright...It's being investigated by F Troop...Cable

[JackConrad]

The area we live in is covered by Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) F Troop.  Years ago, I talked to an older Trooper that said he was really glad when the TV show F Troop went off the air, although most people only knew them as FHP, not by there troop designation.  Jack