STUDY SHOWS UNSAFE TRUCK AND BUSES STILL OPERATE ON AMERICA'S HIGHWAYS
The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have handled many tractor trailer truck accidents and bus accidents, many of which were caused by defective equipment, including tires and brakes. Although there are plenty of federal regulations designed to force owners and operators of such vehicles to maintain safe vehicles, the regulations are often ignored. The Associated Press obtained a recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found that hundreds of tractor-trailer and bus companies which had been order to shut down because of federal safety violations ranging from suspended licenses to possible drug use have stayed on the road by using different names. The GAO report found that a number of the commercial bus companies that had been fined and ordered out of service in 2007 and 2008 by federal regulators evaded compliance by setting up business under a new name. Unfortunately, the investigation found offenders in at lease nine (9) states, including Georgia. Accordingly to the GAO’s investigation, violators owe tens of thousands of dollars in past due fines and had many violations. Another 1,073 commercial trucking firms are also believed to have evaded compliance by reorganizing the company under a new name, often using the same address, owner’s name, employees and contact numbers. According to the report, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says that it has put in place new oversight measures, including a computer matching process to compare new applicants to various motor carriers dating back to 2003. The study by the GAO came about a year after an unlicensed charter bus carrying a Vietnamese-American Catholic group blew a retreaded tire installed on a steering axle and skidded off a Texas highway resulting in the death of 17 people. The use of recapped tires on the steering wheels is a violation of federal regulations. Tractor-trailer and bus companies that operate in violation of federal safety laws pose a significant threat to the motoring public. It is believed that at least 300 wrongful deaths occurred last year from bus crashes alone.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a tractor trailer truck accident or a commercial bus accident, call the experienced Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP for a free consultation.
