A limo driver with a twice-suspended license, a party bus barreling down the highway with a flat tire, and a casino bus driver whose falsified logbook already included entries through the next day. These are just some of the 22 drivers issued tickets at a bus checkpoint set up one random Saturday in April at a Park and Ride in Melville off the Long Island Expressway. These professional drivers who are paid to safely transport passengers were all found with violations, in fact four vehicles were placed out of service for “serious mechanical defects,” police said. Six drivers were placed out of service for not accurately recording their hours of driving, and one driver was placed out of service for a suspended license. This is just one random day at one checkpoint in Suffolk County where 20 vehicles were stopped and inspected.
The checkpoint was inspired by the fatal bus crash in the Bronx that killed 15 passengers on the New York State Thruway. The inspections, which take about 20 minutes, checked to make sure that drivers had the proper licenses and that their vehicles met safety standards for categories such as turn signals, tires and emergency exits, said Mallin, of the motor carrier safety section. Drivers must also keep log books of their travels. The law restricts how long a driver can drive without rest.
When drivers fail to pass these inspections they put their passengers and everyone else on the road at risk. Safety regulations are established for a reason, and its drivers like these that cause horrible accidents that seriously injure or kill their passengers and others on the roads.
If you or someone in your family has been in an accident caused by a bus or limo driver, you may be entitled to compensation. Both the driver and the bus or limo company are responsible for making sure that they their vehicle would pass inspection, the driver is properly licensed, is keeping an accurate logbook of hours, and is following the traffic rules.
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