Tour bus industry under scrutiny after New York bus crash

Tour Bus Industry Under NTSB Probe

The tour bus industry is facing a tough review of its safety record and practices following a series of deadly bus crashes including that of a New York bus that killed 15 people recently.

After the Bronx bus incident, another mishap occurred in the New Jersey Turnpike when a Chinatown bus crashed and killed the driver and one passenger. Barely a week later, another tour bus carrying Korean passengers crashed in New Hampshire with no fatalities.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be the agency who will conduct the probe of the tour buses currently in operation. The review will likely be completed in six months.

"A broad-based investigation into the discount tour bus industry will send a wake-up call that the status quo is simply not acceptable," said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who along with New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez, requested the review.

The review of the tour bus sector is being likened to what was done to the airline industry in the wake of a plane crash in Buffalo in 2009 that claimed the lives of 49 people on board.

In a statement, Velazquez said the probe will ensure public safety.

"These passengers did not have to die in vain," said Velazquez, who hopes that the review "will no doubt lead to greater safety standards for the thousands of passengers who use these buses every week."

The National Transportation Safety Board said it will assess the capability of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, who is directly in charge of enforcing safety rules governing discount tour buses.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Monday April 04 2011, 4:29 AM EST. Ref: Reuters. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0