FMCSA shuts down 52 bus companies in 8-month safety blitz

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shut down 52 bus carriers and took 340 individual vehicles off the road during its eight-month safety crackdown on the motorcoach industry.

During “Operation Quick Strike,” which ended in November, more than 50 safety investigators conducted reviews of 250 motorcoach carriers with histories of safety violations, in addition to inspecting more than 1,300 vehicles. Among other results:

• Carriers most often were shut down due to poor bus maintenance, having inadequate drug and alcohol testing programs, or violating hours-of-service regulations. Vehicles most often were taken off the road for safety and maintenance violations.
• Twenty of the 52 carriers shut down were closed immediately for having violations that posed “an imminent hazard to the public,” and the rest for not taking corrective actions after receiving an “unsatisfactory” safety rating.
• Twenty-eight additional carriers were allowed to stay in operation after taking corrective actions to address violations they had received.

Operation Quick Strike is part of FMCSA’s multi-phase Motorcoach Safety Initiative intended to improve safety in the motorcoach industry.