Another bus crash

[Dreamscape]

The operator has a unsatisfactory rating.
see below web site.

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/Passenger/carrier_detail.asp?DOT=544466&State=TX&Zipcode=&VehicleType=Motor_Coach&order=&keyword=

Isn't that the same outfit that had an accident last year or thereabouts?

Name sounds familiar.

Paul

[Busted Knuckle]

The operator has a unsatisfactory rating.
see below web site.

http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/Passenger/carrier_detail.asp?DOT=544466&State=TX&Zipcode=&VehicleType=Motor_Coach&order=&keyword=

Isn't that the same outfit that had an accident last year or thereabouts?

Name sounds familiar.

Paul

Beats me. But I can assure you I don't for minute buy the "blown tire" story!  BK

[JackConrad]

Landing from an overpass could have easily blew the tire, if it landed on that wheel first.  Have to wait intil NTSB finishes their investigation.  Jack

[Busted Knuckle]

Landing from an overpass could have easily blew the tire, if it landed on that wheel first.  Have to wait intil NTSB finishes their investigation.  Jack

Skidding over the guard rail could've too!

Now in reference to my last statement I offer this link to proof I have some first hand knowledge of the blown tire episode!

  BK 

[roadrunnertex]

This is the latest.
You get's what you pay for folks!

DALLAS (AP) - Federal records show the bus that wrecked in an accident that killed 13 members of a Houston church was not properly licensed to operate.

The bus was operated by Iguala BusMex Incorporated of Houston, according to licensing information on the vehicle. Records show that the company has an application pending with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration but has not been approved for operation.

The charter bus was carrying a Vietnamese Catholic group to an annual pilgrimage early Friday when it slammed onto its side and then skidded off a freeway early Friday, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 40, authorities said.

The company sought certification from the agency June 26, just weeks after it filed incorporation papers with the Texas Secretary of State.

The company's owner and address is the same as another bus company, Angel Tours Inc. that was forced by the FMCSA to take its vehicles out of interstate service June 23 as a result of an unsatisfactory compliance review in May.

Outside a Houston building at that address, a weathered plywood sign bore the name "Angel Tours." A man inside declined to identify himself and told The Associated Press he had no comment when asked if he was affiliated with the company or if it owned the bus involved in the crash.

[letz4wheel]

WOW

[wildbob24]

August 8th, 2008
Fatal bus crash had recapped tire
Posted: 08:54 PM ET

DALLAS, Texas (CNN) — The bus that overturned Friday morning in northern Texas killing 15 people was equipped with a recapped tire on the right front, in violation of safety rules, a federal investigator said Friday.

"The right tire on the steer axle was a Goodyear tire and it had been recapped," National Transportation Safety Board Member Debbie Hersman told reporters. Though the trucking industry commonly uses recapped tires to extend the tires' lifespan, "they cannot be placed on the steer axle of the bus," she said.

The tire was the only one of 10 bus tires that was recapped, and it was the only one whose tread separated, she said.

The ban on recapped tires from the steer axle is intended to limit the chance that a sudden loss of tire pressure could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle, Hersman said.

[roadrunnertex]

This is a tragic accident that should have not happened.
So now this accident is going to cost us tax payers a lot of bucks in more ways than one.
The bus charter company will not have any insurance and it's owners will probably head back to Mexico.
This is the 2nd major bus accident in Texas that was caused by shady charter companies that had no regard for the rules that major charter bus companies have to operate by.
To bad that US DOT can't shut these type of outfits down before the cause a major problem.
No folks I don't own a bus charter company.
jlv

[JackConrad]

To bad the company owner cannot be arrested, placed in jail and charged with 14 counts of murder.  Jack

[jackhartjr]

To put a recap on the steering axle of a bus shows utter disregard for any safety whatsoever!
Jack

[HighTechRedneck]

To bad the company owner cannot be arrested, placed in jail and charged with 14 counts of murder.  Jack

I agree. It seems almost like a case could be made for "negligent homicide".  But usually all that will have is they will get sued for wrongful death.  They'll let their insurance cover it or if they are uninsured, underinsured or the court doesn't allow insurance to cover it they'll file bankruptcy.  Another family member will buy the assets and start the business back up.

[Charles Seaton]

I would go so far as to say that no one on this board, and I know some of us are occaisionally strapped for cash, would EVER put a recap on the steer axles of our buses.   That's begging for trouble.  I can't think of the words to describe a bus company that would do it or a bus driver that would actually drive a bus with steer axle recaps.

[roadrunnertex]

DOT regs.
(d) No bus shall be operated with regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on the front wheels.

[Runcutter]

There's a bigger story here, too.  How many churches, with limited finances, skimp on cost and charter the cheapest operator? 

John will remember the MCI that ran into a bridge east of Dallas a few years ago, driver was fatigued and had drugs in his system.  When I was listening to the radio news that day, the church spokesman was a minister, husband of one of Phyllis' friends, and who helped us move.  The original operator had subcontracted out the second bus.

Running internally, a church I belonged to was going to use its cutaway for a ski trip from Dallas to Colorado.  The youth minister planned two drivers, one was going to sleep in the back of the van from Dallas to El Paso, to be a fresh driver (by the way, it was the youth group, a load of teenagers).  I counseled him to fly the second driver to El Paso - telling him that if he wanted to grow the youth group, he should try not to kill off the current members.

So, what can we do?  Get with your own church, school groups, whatever - and bring them up to speed on the safety rating.  Bring the reports of this accident, turn the tables and scare the hell out of the priest/minister/rabbi.  Help them scare the hell out of the congregation.

After a major wreck in Mineola 10-12 years ago, I developed a church bus safety presentation for volunteers.  Among other things, it covered how to run in a convoy, things I learned as a young bus driver (yes, buses had been invented by then).  My take on that wreck was that the second van in the lost, off-route convoy was trying to keep the first van in sight, so she pulled out in front of a concrete truck.

Unfortunately, some of the ministers that contacted me about the program essentially said that if the volunteers knew of the risks and duties, they wouldn't volunteer.

If anyone here wants a copy of my notes from the presentation to use at your church/whatever, PM or email me, and I'll send them along (I think I can find them).  I'll be gone for most of the next couple of weeks, and I'm up far beyond my eyebrows in a client emergency this weekend, so it may be a while.

Arthur 

[luvrbus]

The weight the 45 ft buses carry on the front axle now is scary to me our 35 and 40 ft units are nothing compared to these