ANOTHER charter bus crash and another warning about GPS on the East Coast

[greatam]

A horrible charter bus crash yesterday:

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/students-injured-bus-crash-harvard-visit-article-1.1254216

 

While this charter company DID have the proper insurance and FMCSA/DOT authority, there are so many out there that don't. So PLEASE be careful who you are doing business with. Frequent questions about TransportAzimah and Premier Parking. Both bad and uninsured.

 

Training of bus drivers is a BIG problem. You don't hear of too many semi trucks hitting bridges because drivers sit up higher in their cabs and are more cognizant of the height of their trailers. NEW bus drivers just don't think about it as much. And with a bus, the results can be fatal. About the worst that happens most of the time when a truck hits a bridge is freight gets scattered all over the road.

 

As the article states, two of the worst bus crashes in recent history involved drivers using the GPS when they were lost. It is our company policy that once one of our trucks passes a North/South line from Ohio/PA/NJ, NO GPS is allowed. I will not allow GPS usage in MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, MD, DE and Eastern PA around Philadelphia.

 

Make a phone call for directions, call the office for directions, call the local FIRE DEPARTMENT for directions or do it the old fashioned way and get out a map. There are maps sold at truck stops all over the country the mark DESIGNATED routes suitable for large vehicles (this includes motor homes and travel trailers).

 

If one of our drivers gets himself in a bind due to GPS (even without a wreck), he is fined $250.00 plus will pay any fine from any authority for being on the wrong road or area. If it happens a second time, the driver is out of a job.

 

A lot of companies allow GPS to be used as the article points out. BAD idea on the East Coast with large vehicles and not even a good idea with cars in congested areas because the GPS doesn't reset itself fast enough to correct what could be a very bad mistake with large buildings around.

 

Just an FYI to pay CLOSE attention to who you do business with if you are considering a charter bus ride someplace. And seriously think about the GPS in congested areas. We ALL drove without GPS for a lot of years. Yes, you can do it.

[Nitemare]

What has gone unsaid here is that the tour buses that take tourists around are usually doing the same routes every week (if not more often) and they know where they are going, while this trip was a one off -- not a recurring trip for the bus company or the driver. And the driver apparently ignored Low Clearance signs.

 

You can't be afraid of everything that could possibly go wrong, or you'll never go anywhere. I trust that the major cruiselines (read: all the lines that are on this board) make sure the bus companies are familiar with the tours and routes that are being offered.

[1025cruise]

Ignored or didn't see....

[greatam]

What has gone unsaid here is that the tour buses that take tourists around are usually doing the same routes every week (if not more often) and they know where they are going, while this trip was a one off -- not a recurring trip for the bus company or the driver. And the driver apparently ignored Low Clearance signs.

 

You can't be afraid of everything that could possibly go wrong, or you'll never go anywhere. I trust that the major cruiselines (read: all the lines that are on this board) make sure the bus companies are familiar with the tours and routes that are being offered.

 

This may have been a one off trip. BUT and it is a VERY big BUT!!!

 

These are COMMERCIAL drivers with COMMERCIAL driver's licenses. Your first and foremost job is to protect your passengers to the best of your ability no matter the situation or route. You don't IGNORE low clearance signs when you are driving a bus, a tractor/trailer, a straight truck or a motor home/travel trailer (which doesn't even require a commercial license but sure gets a lot of private owners in trouble).

 

You seem to be missing the point. These charter buses have NOTHING to do with the cruise lines. We are NOT speaking about cruise line or even private cruise ship excursion buses.

 

If you reread the article, the bus going to Syracuse involved in the crash (fatal) was looking for the BUS STATION. Definitely shouldn't be a one off trip. And the CT crash was a gambling bus from NYC (there are A LOT of those buses between Mohegan Sun and NYC and also the Atlantic City casinos and NY/NJ every single day).

 

Here is a post just from today:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1780905

 

Note the first bus line asked about: Transport Azumah

 

PRIVATE company, NO insurance, NO FMCSA/DOT authority. Been shut down by both NYC and the State of NY NUMEROUS times. But the guy just keeps on operating. He calls his service a "private" bus line for "members" only and he doesn't need any of the "niceties" that entitle him to run a LEGIT transportation business. IF he doesn't make enough money to pay for $5,000,000 worth of insurance yearly (mandatory requirement if you are hauling passengers) or doesn't give a d**mn if he gets the insurance, just what kind of drivers do you think get hired? THE CHEAPEST, the most inexperienced. I have seen adds in NY newspapers, Craigslist and transportation publications for short haul bus drivers at $12-15.00 per hour. Just what kind or driver works for that money in NY? Or Boston? or Philly? The worst of the worst that can't get a job any place else because of a crapped out DAC record (stands for Drive a Check by HireRight) or the most inexperienced who have no record.

 

Why are the commuter/casino/short haul buses such a problem? There is VERY lax enforcement of commercial buses nationwide in most states (over the road buses, not your local city bus). When you see those weigh stations on the side of the road or in rest areas, buses are exempted from pulling in about 95% of the time.

 

So you have a lot of unsafe buses and unqualified bus drivers. Greyhound/Continental Trailways have been around forever and are generally safe. USA Coach, which runs buses from airports in the NY/NJ area, has a sterling safety record. There are a few other companies that run qualified services and have good safety records. MOST of these commuter type buses are on the East Coast. You don't find many on the West Coast. There are a few running from LA to the casinos in Las Vegas. But CA does a pretty good job of inspecting buses and keeping on top of driver qualifications. PLUS a real biggie-you have VERY FEW low underpasses on the West Coast.

 

I am sick and tired of the slaughter on the highways due to unqualified bus drivers. I am sick and tired of my semi trucks waiting hours while a bus wreck is cleaned up on I-95.

 

Everyone complains about the semi trucks. Better think about all those short haul buses who may have a driver who passed a written and medical test two days ago, a driving test on an open highway today and is now going to transport 50-60 people tomorrow to who knows where. I don't even let my freight go with inexperienced drivers for at least a month or more.

[Nitemare]

Sorry, I thought you were just talking about the Boston crash, not going in to all the other crashes that have happened in the past with renegade bus companies (which this one did not seem to be). We know you have a thing about Azumah, and I'm not sure how tying that company to other crashes helps get them off of the road.

 

My question to you is, what are you recommending people do? Other than be afraid to take an excursion? You can die in a bus crash for sure. Or on a plane crash, or on the Costa Concordia, or in your bathtub. Or are you just trying to get Azumah shut down?

 

I honestly have no idea of what you intended to get done with this thread.

[greatam]

Sorry, I thought you were just talking about the Boston crash, not going in to all the other crashes that have happened in the past with renegade bus companies (which this one did not seem to be). We know you have a thing about Azumah, and I'm not sure how tying that company to other crashes helps get them off of the road.

 

My question to you is, what are you recommending people do? Other than be afraid to take an excursion? You can die in a bus crash for sure. Or on a plane crash, or on the Costa Concordia, or in your bathtub. Or are you just trying to get Azumah shut down?

 

I honestly have no idea of what you intended to get done with this thread.

 

Why do you keep bringing up EXCURSIONS? Nothing was ever mentioned about cruise ship excursions.

 

This post was intended to make people aware that there are a lot of bus companies operating on the EAST COAST that do not have proper insurance, operating authority or experienced drivers. There are posts every week asking how to get from Boston to the Bayonne or NYC cruise ports. Similar questions from Baltimore, South NJ and Pennsylvania to various cruise ports on the East Coast pop up frequently. Just yesterday-how to get from Albany (the train was the consensus).

 

It is very simple to check a companies safety rating and whether they have insurance or not. CSA 2010 has even brought into the databases driver's records and company maintenance records as well as any defects found in roadside checks or at weigh stations. It IS the wise thing to do to check out the record of any bus transportation company if they are not high profile. The "Chinatown" buses have some pretty poor records, including two fatal crashes in 2011.

 

"On May 31, 2012, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that it had ordered the shutdown of Apex Bus Inc., I-95 Coach Inc., New Century Travel Inc., and 23 other related entities due to safety violations" (from FMCSA records).

 

Mega Bus, Bolt and Coach USA are some of the larger operators on the East Coast and are generally safe and hire experienced drivers or train their own drivers.

 

As posted previously, buses have been largely exempted from pulling into permanent weigh stations or temporary roadside checks. But that is changing rapidly. The amount of fatal bus crashes on the East Coast primarily through inexperienced drivers (hitting overpasses or rear ending other vehicles) has forced states to inspect buses more frequently. Plus-they need the money from fines. Bad excuse and has nothing to do with safety but we are noticing even minor infractions like a ripped mud flap now have a fine attached where before it was a "fix it" ticket that had to be signed off by a mechanic with the receipt attached.

[Nitemare]

I bring up EXCURSIONS because this is a CRUISE BOARD, and that's probably 90% (or more) of the time people reading this thread are going to get on a tour bus.

 

Of course there are lots of bus and truck companies without insurance and proper licensing. As there are car and van drivers, too. But you started this thread because of the crash near Harvard, and that was on a bus that was licensed and insured, so what does that have to do with your making people aware? That company had a great safety history, and yet . . . heck, the company that owned the bus that crashed in San Bernadino this week, killing people, also has insurance.

 

If you look hard enough, everything can be unsafe. There were two terrible crashes in the past week in this country. And how many safe rides?