U.S. Government to Crack Down on Unsafe Tour Bus Operators in Wake of Deadly Crashes

In the wake of recent fatal tour bus crashes, the government is beginning to crack down on ] operators with a history, in hopes that future such events will be prevented.

Over the next two months, inspectors will examine companies with a history of accidents or whose buses have been pulled off the highway by police and safety investigators for safety violations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials told The Associated Press. Instead of just relying on company practice records, as has been done in the past, inspectors will physically inspect buses when they visit bus companies, The Associated Press reported.

The agency is also working with state police to increase the number of buses pulled over violations, The Associated Press reported. The inspectors will also search databases for information about bus companies sharing ownership and addresses, according to The Associated Press.

Often, what are known as "reincarnated" or "chameleon" carriers -- bus operators who have been shut down for safety violations, and shift their buses and drivers to an affiliated company operating under a new name -- crop up. These buses, sometimes known as "ghost buses," feature minimum signage or other identifying information.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Anne Ferro, head of the motor carrier administration, met with bus industry officials and safety organizations to discuss how the government could prevent bus unsafe bus operators from transporting passengers, The Associated Press reported.

This all comes in the wake of a crash in San Bernardino, Calif. earlier this month, when a tour bus crashed into a pickup truck, killing eight people and injuring dozens. And just before New Year's, nine people people were killed and 38 injured when a tour bus crashed in northeastern Oregon.

A post-crash investigation of Scapadas Magicas LLC, the bus operator involved in the California crash, found that the company's two other buses that had been operating in the U.S. had major mechanical safety violations, and the company failed to meet regular inspections, The Associated Press reported.

As for the Oregon accident, the driver had been working 92 hours in an eight-day stretch, well over the federal limit of 70. The bus company, based in Vancouver, Canada, according to The Associated Press, has been shut down and barred from operating U.S. buses.