Highway Safety

Dec 31

A bus picks up customers who were waiting inside the Double Happyness terminal. THE NEWS JOURNAL/ANDRE L. SMITH

Double Happyness Bus Line Shuttered by Feds

(from Delaware Online)

The U.S. Department of Transportation has ordered a bus line that travels from Wilmington, Delaware to New York City shut down.

Double Happyness Travel Inc., based in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., was declared an "imminent hazard" to public safety and ordered to cease all passenger service.

The government review found multiple violations of rules regarding vehicle maintenance, alcohol and controlled-substance testing and driver hours.

Dec 26

Schumer Bill Would Extend Overtime Pay to Over-the-Road Bus Drivers

NTSB warns of curbside carriers’ crash risk

Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York) has introduced legislation to include Greyhound drivers under overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Schumer’s “Driver Fatigue Prevention Act” would eliminate the little-known exemption for owners of intercity bus lines. It could be included in the massive Surface Transportation Act that Congress will debate this coming spring.

Oct 29

NTSB Says Driver Fatigue is Top Cause of Bus Fatalities

ATU adds Labor’s demand to national push for highway safety: Pay overworked intercity bus drivers overtime.

A recent series of horrific bus accidents across the country has claimed 22 lives and injured hundreds, sparking bipartisan calls for highway safety. Some Republicans and Democrats are showing uncharacteristic agreement on legislation requiring seat belts, shatter-resistant windows and stronger roofs to reduce rollover fatalities. Others are calling on states to step up bus inspections.