Article provided by Corey Leifer, P.A.
Please visit us at http://www.leiferlaw.com/.
In response to severe safety violations, federal authorities have the ability to order bus and tractor-trailer companies to cease operations. When companies routinely ignore the laws designed to ensure the safety of everyone on the roads, this is one means of addressing the problem.
As a recent study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals, though, many companies that have been ordered to stop because of repeat safety violations have simply reincarnated under new names.
The GAO reviewed motor carriers regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In doing so, they found that at least 20 of the approximately 220 commercial bus companies that had been ordered shut down in 2007 and 2008 continued to operate under different names. The violators owed delinquent fines and had multiple violations, from operating without the proper license to failing to test drivers for illegal drugs and alcohol.
When these companies continue operations without addressing safety violations, they put others at serious risk. For example, in August 2008, an unlicensed charter bus carrying a Vietnamese-American Catholic group blew a retreaded tire installed on a steering axle and skidded off the highway. This bus accident resulted in 17 fatalities. Using a retreaded tire on the front wheel of a bus is a violation of federal regulations. The carrier that operated the bus company had been found unsafe two months prior to the accident and evaded compliance by resuming business under a new name.
The GAO found that at least 1,073 trucking companies changed their names after an order to shut down or pay thousands of dollars in fines. As the report stated, these reincarnated companies pose a public threat because they avoid their legal obligations to fix the problems that got them in trouble in the first place. The number of reincarnated companies may be higher than the GAO report estimated, because it looked at exact matches between names and addresses, not partial matches or very similar information. The investigation found offenders in at least nine states.
The GAO report acknowledges that the FMCSA has recently tried harder to catch these reincarnated bus operators using computer matching to find suspects. But some operators still fall through the cracks despite the agency's efforts.
Currently under federal law, it is unclear whether FMCSA or the states hold the necessary enforcement powers. However, a federal standard being proposed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee would give the FMCSA more authority to revoke licenses and impose fines. The legislation would also insist that FMCSA improve its computer systems.
Although positive changes may be coming in the future, the current system leaves room for these reincarnated companies to operate without being caught and stopped. The fact that these bus and truck companies continue to be in business despite numerous violations and fines is potentially dangerous for all users of public transit systems and all motorists on U.S. roads.
If you have been involved in an accident caused by a bus or truck operated by an unqualified driver or company, contact an attorney to protect your legal rights.
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