ALBANY, NY (03/21/2011)(readMedia)-- The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) today announced that the stepped-up enforcement and inspections of buses conducted through a coordinated effort with NYSDOT and state and local law enforcement over the last three days ended with dozens of buses or drivers pulled from the road.

Since Governor Andrew M. Cuomo called for additional safety bus inspections following fatal bus crashes last week, 164 buses and their drivers were inspected at 13 checkpoints across the state by NYSDOT inspectors in cooperation with New York City Police, New York State Police and the Border Patrol.

"Bus operators and drivers must follow the basic rules and regulations of the road designed to keep passengers safe," said Governor Cuomo. "As proven by these enhanced checkpoints, some of these drivers had no business being behind the wheel and some of these buses had no business being on the road - this is a warning to everyone involved to abide by the law."

• There were 3 checkpoint locations in Manhattan from Friday to Sunday. During those inspections, 26 buses were pulled over and inspected. In all, 16 of the 26 buses were found with vehicle violations or driver violations that were significant enough to take them out-of-service. That equals 62 percent of the buses which were inspected.

• Also in Manhattan, 72 minor vehicle infractions were noted through the weekend inspection period.

• Elsewhere in the state, 138 buses were inspected. Of those, 25 inspections resulted in bus and/or driver out-of-service violations, or an average of 18 percent of vehicles and/or drivers.

• During this same period, the State Police issued 45 moving violations to bus drivers.

"Working with law enforcement, and through the leadership of Governor Cuomo, the State DOT has increased the number of roadside safety inspections we are conducting," said NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald. "While the actions a few should not tarnish an important and reliable industry, the memory of those who lost their lives last week demands that additional action be taken to safeguard the traveling public. As always, drivers and buses found to be unsafe will be removed from the road."

Regular roadside bus inspections are conducted throughout the year, but have been intensified in the wake of the recent crashes to assure that buses and drivers are in compliance with regulations. Since Friday, inspections have been conducted statewide, in locations ranging from Manhattan to New York's borders with Canada, and at popular bus tour locations in the Hudson Valley, Upstate New York and on Long Island.

The stepped-up roadside safety inspections conducted by NYSDOT and law enforcement are over and above regularly scheduled inspections conducted on each vehicle at least every six months. NYSDOT performs approximately 160,000 semi-annual pre-scheduled bus inspections a year on buses based in New York State. These inspections are performed on school, charter, line-run commercial, ambulette, and airport buses.

On Saturday, March 12, 2011 a bus traveling from Connecticut carrying 32 passengers crashed on the Westchester County/Bronx border, killing 15 passengers. New York State Police and the National Transportation Safety Board continue with the investigation. Only days later, on Monday, March 14, another bus traveling from New York City en route to Philadelphia crashed in New Jersey, killing the driver and a passenger.

For further information on these designated traffic and enforcement initiatives, please contact your local Troop Headquarters. For a list of Troop Headquarters, please go to: www.troopers.state.ny.us/Contact_Us/Troop_Information.

For information about NYSDOT's bus inspection program, please go to: https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/operating/osss/bus/inspection.

###

Posted Monday March 21, 2011 at 02:02 pm by New York State Department of Transportation
Last Updated Tuesday March 22, 2011 at 10:36 am