Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

The double-deck bus that slammed into a highway overpass support, killing one passenger and injuring dozens of others, was manufactured last year and passed a company safety inspection days ago.

The bus, carrying 64 passengers, apparently blew a tire and skidded into the center pillar around 1:20 p.m. near Litchfield, about 60 miles north of St. Louis. As many as half the people on the bus were injured.

The draft report presented to the five NTSB members will include the following issue areas: survival factors, driver background and human factors, highway design, vehicle factors, motor carrier oversight, and the company operating and safety history.

Prosecutors say the school was getting commercial driver's licenses for people without the necessary skills.

The driver of a Rimrock Trailways bus collided with a median at approximately 65 to 70 mph, likely causing the vehicle to roll on its side, killing two passengers and injuring 32 others.

Two passenger trains and a bus collided when the driver of the bus drove around rail track barriers to try to beat the trains across the tracks. The driver was among the 11 killed.

A St. Louis-bound bus struck a concrete barrier and overturned on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and sent 14 people to the hospital. Both state police and Greyhound officials are continuing to investigate the accident.

Investigators found hours-of-service and multiple drug and alcohol testing violations for the company, Mr. Ho Charter Service, which operated a motorcoach that crashed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on June 27. The co-driver was killed and 24 passengers and the driver were injured.

Motor Carrier Safety Measurement System identified the operators as risky after incidents or investigation showed they exceeded acceptable benchmarks in at least one of five areas: Unsafe driving, driver fatigue, driver fitness, drivers operating while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and vehicle maintenance.

Ophadell Williams’ lawyers said that he maintains that he was sober, rested and fully awake at the time of the accident. He lost control of the coach when a tractor-trailer veered suddenly toward it in the dark.