Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Will strengthen enforcement oversight at high-crash corridors throughout the state, conduct safety audits of new truck and bus companies and upgrade the CDL knowledge test from paper to electronic form at testing facilities across the state.

Two pilot projects measured the effect of increased law enforcement coupled with high-profile public education campaigns. In Syracuse, N.Y., because of high-visibility enforcement, both handheld cell phone use and texting behind the wheel declined by one-third. In Hartford, Conn., there was a 57 percent drop in handheld use and texting behind the wheel dropped by nearly three-quarters.

The strike force issued out-of-service citations to 127 drivers and 315 vehicles during the unannounced inspections that took place during the first two weeks in May.

All buses that were pulled over by state transportation investigators and law enforcement were ordered off the road. One major reason was the lack of an updated hours of service log book.

The cameras snap photographs of offending vehicles' license plates, just as existing red-light cameras do; then a ticket is mailed to the owner's address.

Approach will be more frequent and flexible and will be deployed at more locations, offering greater coverage systemwide.

Despite some improvements, results also showed an increase in moving traffic warnings and citations for all drivers, which shows more work is needed to educate both passenger and commercial vehicle drivers about operating their vehicles more safely.