It seems that Mexican-made buses—not constructed to U.S. standards—are crossing the border and entering the U.S.  Because they are involved in international trade, the buses are not considered imports, according to a federal inquiry. Volvo manufactures buses in Mexico to meet European, not U.S. standards.

“We want to close the barn door,” said Debbie Hersman, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member leading the investigation into how, on January 2, a Houston-based bus company owned by Capricorn Bus Lines crashed a 2005 Volvo bus near Victoria. “There are already some horses out.”  The bus was bringing back Houston residents from Monterrey, Mexico. (more…)

While airline crashes tend to get more press, many travelers die in bus and train accidents as well.  Take for instance the recent bus crash in August that killed 17 people who were traveling from Houston to a religious event, or the Atlanta bus accident last year that involved the Bluffton University baseball team or the 2002 Texas bus accident that involved Texas church campers.

Jim Hall, formerly of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)—Hall chaired the NTSB from 1994 to 2001—agrees that the traveling public is treated to a different standard if they are on a bus instead of an airliner or train.  Further, some of those who died in the two Texas and the Georgia accidents might have survived if a few basic safety propositions, such as seat belts and stronger windows, had been adopted.  “There’s a strong safety culture in aviation that has been supported by the aviation community, in which fatalities are unacceptable,” Hall said. “That same culture we haven’t had on our highways.  I wish I could explain it.” (more…)

Following a fatal Texas bus crash earlier this month, federal authorities have been cracking down on bus companies with spotty safety records. But according to a report in The Houston Chronicle, revoking a rogue bus company’s license to operate might not be enough to guarantee public safety.

The August 8th Texas bus accident, which killed 17 people, was the nation’s deadliest bus crash since 2005. The charter bus, owned by a company called Iguala Busmex, was taking a group of Vietnamese Catholics to a religious festival in Missouri. The vehicle blew an illegally treaded tire, skidded off the highway and overturned. In addition to the deaths, 38 people were injured. (more…)