New York State Nears 1,300 Roadside Bus Inspections Since March 17

ALBANY, NY (04/14/2011)(readMedia)-- The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) today announced that 1,286 surprise roadside inspections have been conducted and 124 bus drivers and 96 buses have been removed from New York roadways since Governor Andrew M. Cuomo ordered a crackdown on bus safety March 17th.

NYSDOT inspectors, in partnership with New York State troopers and other law enforcement officials, continue their efforts to ensure that buses and their drivers meet interstate travel requirements and comply with moving traffic laws. During the same period, the New York State Police have issued more than 150 moving traffic violations to bus drivers.

"Bus drivers who don't follow the rules as well as buses that are unsafe must be taken off the road so that New Yorkers can have confidence in the safety of the public transportation system," Governor Cuomo said. "My administration is aggressively enforcing the laws governing bus safety and I commend the inspectors and their law enforcement partners for their stepped-up efforts."

"DOT inspectors continue to perform stepped-up roadside critical component checks, and -- even though this crackdown is now well-known -- they are still finding violations serious enough to take buses or drivers off the road," said NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald. "Pulling more than 100 drivers off the road should be a signal that we mean business about safety. Operators and drivers are advised to take our message of zero tolerance seriously."

Roadside checks conducted in the New York City metropolitan area continue to produce the greatest number of drivers and vehicles with serious violations. Of the 302 inspections done there since March 17th, 55 drivers and 59 buses had violations serious enough to pull them from the road.

New York State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D'Amico said, "The New York State Police and our law enforcement partners are committed to keeping New York's roadways safe by aggressively enforcing the Vehicle and Traffic Laws."

Since New York's inspections programs began, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it will be conducting a review of the safety system governing the discount tour bus industry. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) also announced that it had moved up its national strike force bus inspection operations to assist states in conducting roadside checks of motor coaches and their drivers.

Regular roadside bus inspections are conducted throughout the year, but have been intensified in the wake of the recent crashes to ensure that buses and drivers are in compliance with regulations. The roadside safety inspections are over and above regularly scheduled inspections conducted on each vehicle at least every six months, twice that which is required by federal law. NYSDOT performs approximately 160,000 semi-annual pre-scheduled bus inspections a year on buses based in New York State, during which it utilizes some of the most rigorous inspection standards in the country. Regularly scheduled inspections are performed on school, charter, line-run commercial, ambulette and airport buses.

In addition to the bus safety crackdown, investigators with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) continue to look for bus drivers who may be fraudulently obtaining multiple driver licenses using aliases. DMV uses facial recognition technology to identify individuals who have a valid Commercial Driver License in one name and additional driver license documents in another, and recently announced the arrests of 13 bus drivers charged with submitting false paperwork.

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.

New York State agencies, including DMV and DOT, will continue to work with local law enforcement and prosecutors to remove dangerous and illegal drivers from New York's roads.

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.