Highway Safety

Apr 04

Annual deaths from intercity and charter bus crashes have tripled since the 1990s. Read more: Unacceptable Risk: Cheap Buses, Fatal Rides - Popular Mechanics

Cheap Tickets, Fatal rides: Why Bus Crashes Are on the Rise

More than 750 million people travel by bus each year, and the number is on the rise because of the lousy economy. But cheap bus tickets come with a price: Fatalities from bus crashes are on the rise, too, especially from the new crop of discount bus lines.

Mar 30

Take the Bus and Leave the Driving to...Who?

Greyhound built its reputation as the country's leading intercity bus line on the skill of its drivers. for 98 years, passengers have trusted us to get them to their destination safely and on time.

Now, though, the company is trying to pull a fast one on Texans. "Express" drivers between Dallas and Austin and between Houston and Austin may wear Greyhound uniforms, but they are really employed by the company's cut-rate line, Americanos.

Click the title of this story to view a full page flyer in both English and Spanish. Feel free to copy and distribute.

Feb 27

ATU Walks the Halls on Capitol Hill for Highway Safety

ATU International has brought in big guns for an unprecedented fight to include paying bus drivers overtime in a new U.S. transportation bill. ATU Pres. Larry Hanley said Harold Ickes, who served as deputy chief of staff to Pres. Bill Clinton, joined the campaign against driver fatigue in January. Hanley said, “We are deadly serious about a deadly serious problem, and Harold is a deadly serious lobbyist.”

Feb 27

Republicans Stumble in Moves to Block Bill

Meanwhile, extremists are failing to derail the federal transportation bill with massive cuts and unrelated amendments. Urban and suburban Republicans in the House rejected conservatives’ push to cut mass transit, and Republicans in the Senate complained about measures like Rand Paul’s to link foreign aid to Egypt with the measure.

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.