Legal News

Feds Take Action to Ensure Bus Safety

The tour group responsible for a fatal bus crash in Texas on August 8th has been shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and the agency has temporarily stopped issuing licenses to new bus companies, until it can ensure that entities ordered to cease operations aren't merely forming new transportation companies under different business names.

On August 10, the FMCSA issued an "Operations Out-of-Service Order" to Angel Tours, Inc. and Iguala BusMex, two days after an Iguala BusMex bus crashed in Sherman, Texas, killing 17 passengers. The order called the companies an "imminent hazard to public safety. . .based upon their present state of unacceptable safety compliance and their failure to adequately establish safety management systems and ensure their vehicles are properly maintained." According to the Associated Press, the FMCSA has stopped issuing licenses to all new bus companies until the agency can properly cross-reference license applicants, in part to ensure that the companies "don't simply set up shop under a new name" after being ordered to cease operations. The Houston Chronicle reports that Iguala Busmex was established by the operator of Angel Tours, after a June FMCSA order that required Angel Tours to shut down.

• Read the Operations Out-of-Service Order (FMCSA) [PDF file]
• FMCSA Press Release on Angel Tours / Iguala Busmex
• AP: Feds Nix New Bus Company Licenses After Crash
• Houston Chronicle: Applications for Bus Companies on Hold After Texas Crash
• Motor Vehicle Accidents (FindLaw)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on August 13, 2008 (boomark / email).