The year 2011 has been a terrible year for bus safety with a total of six serious bus accidents already recorded.  These accidents have ended with 25 deaths.  Anne Ferro, chief of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration quoted those statistics as she spoke before a congressional hearing last week.  Ferro was pushing for more funding for her agency in order to conduct more inspections and increase oversight over bus companies.

Ferro is specifically asking for more funding to increase the number of inspectors, so her agency can inspect every single bus in the long-distance industry at least once every 12 months.  Increased funding would also allow the agency to conduct spot safety checks, helping root out unsafe bus operators.

During the congressional hearing, Ferro also spoke about increasing the DOT operating license fee from the current $300.  Charging a fee of $300 to operate a bus is ludicrous.  Ferro also wants to increase the penalties for bus safety violations to $10,000 from the current $2,000.

Over the last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has cracked down on a bus operator in Michigan who was transferring unpaid passengers in the cargo hold of the bus.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also rebuked a North Carolina operator for using unqualified drivers.  These are just of some of the issues facing bus safety around the country, and the agency desperately needs more funding in order to carry out its safety responsibilities.

Lawmakers need to prove to Houston bus accident lawyers that they’re serious about bus safety by increasing funding for the agency, and increasing the authority granted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to crack down on unsafe bus operators.

Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Houston personal injury attorney who practices Houston auto accident and other personal injury cases.

For more info on how Vuk can help you with your potential case please call him at (877) 724-7800 or fill out the contact form on the right.

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