Legal loopholes in state laws are big enough for bus company owners to drive unsafe, unapproved buses right through them.
Legal loopholes in state laws are big enough for bus company owners to drive unsafe, unapproved buses right through them. A recent investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that bus companies are using vehicles that don’t meet federal safety standards thereby endangering passengers and motorists.
The investigation followed a fatal crash two years ago of a Capricorn Bus Lines motor coach on its way to Houston, Tex. from Monterrey, Mexico. The bus rolled over after its driver fell asleep eight hours into the 10-hour trip, killing one passenger and injuring all 46 other passengers onboard.
History of trouble and loopholes
The NTSB conclude
d that bus companies with serious accident histories are using legal loopholes to have other companies register vehicles, essentially creating a legal front for improper operations.
Capricorn obtained a Texas license plate by having another bus company register the bus in California. Capricorn then used the California registration to acquire Texas plates. Robert Sumwalt, NTSB board member, told the Associated Press, “I think that this accident is the mother of all shell games.”
In its findings, the board wrote that the owner of Capricorn illicitly imported the 2005 Volvo bus involved in the rollover, and used a California registration law loophole to bypass federal and state requirements for vehicles to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
A Houston Chronicle article on the rollover accident said a bus made to meet U.S. safety requirements costs approximately $400,000; a bus made with lesser safety features can cost half of that.
The Chronicle also obtained records showing that Capricorn had previously settled, for $3.3 million, a lawsuit centered on a similar crash injuring 46 people.
NTSB recommendations
After its investigation of the 2008 bus crash, the NTSB recommended that federal agencies crack down on the companies using buses that don’t meet safety standards, forcing them to either take the buses out of operation or go out of business.
Other NTSB proposals:
• Create databases to enable state law enforcement to identify buses that don’t meet safety requirements in order to get the vehicles off the roads
• Require bus companies to certify that all buses they lease or own meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; certification would be updated yearly
• Use the internet to distribute safety videos and other media materials to carriers
