New York bus accident risk increases with interstate curbside operations

In our last post, we discussed the statistical conclusion — based on accident data and inspection violations – that curbside buses are the riskier option for interstate travelers in New York and across the country. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the fatal bus accident rate for curbside operators was 1.4 percent for the period between 2005 and this past March when the New York accident taking 15 lives occurred.

The 1.4 percent statistic may not seem like a particularly large number, but when compared to the 0.2 percent fatal accident rate for conventional bus operators the number seems a lot bigger. When you realize that it is your life that is being gambled, that fatality rate may seem even greater. But why is there such a discrepancy between traditional buses and curbside operations?

According to the NTSB report, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration cannot handle the workload necessary to enforce safety regulations after the curbside bus industry took off in the 1990s. The administration is responsible for overseeing the safety operations of 765,000 bus companies with only a staff of 878 federal and state inspectors. That means that a single inspector is required to oversee 1,000 companies in inspections that can take two or more weeks to properly conduct.

Understaffing is not the only problem that has plagued the bus industry. The administration reported that curbside inspections are often difficult to conduct because of language barriers. Many of the companies are run by people who do not speak English well or at all. The language barriers not only makes it difficult to inspect books written in another language and discuss safety violations with owners, but it makes it difficult for the owners themselves to understand the safety regulations.

According to the investigative reports there are some even more disturbing problems found amongst curbside operations. Those include: falsified logbooks to avoid driver hour restrictions, operators who have been shut down but continue to do business and incorrect addresses and phone numbers for the company itself making inspection scheduling more than difficult.

Source: Associated Press, “Curbside buses have higher fatal accident rate,” Joan Lowy, Oct. 31, 2011