As a result of pressure from Congress and an investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Motor Carrier Administration has announced new regulations that will target bus and trucking companies with poor safety records. The new changes will allow the NTSB, which is tasked with oversight of these industries, to shut down businesses that have repeatedly failed to meet safety standards, even if a current inspection would not normally call for this action.
The NTSB was called out at the end of 2012, and a probe was opened by the NHTSA due to the fact that accidents involving commercial bus and trucking companies were occurring, even after receiving a passing grade on inspections from the NTSB. In one particular case, it was found that just a month before an accident that took 11 lives, the company in question was inspected by the board. However, inspectors never actually looked at the buses in spite of the fact that the organization had a history of problems.
As a result of beefing up regulations, there have already been 52 bus companies shut down throughout the country. While many are happy that these changes are being made, public safety advocates feel that they are long overdue.
Commercial vehicle accidents are frequently more damaging and cause greater injury than automobile collisions due to the size of the vehicles involved. If someone has been in one of these crashes, a lawyer may be able to help someone find out if it was caused by negligence on the part of the company that owns the vehicle and assist the individual in pursuing remuneration for medical bills and lost wages.