Tag: motorcoach safety

National Motorcoach Safety Summit to be Held September 23rd

Although motorcoach transportation is one of the most cost-effective, accessible and safe forms of public transportation, there has been a number of recent tragic crashes around the United States that involved motorcoaches and buses. In an effort to strengthen motorcoach safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the Department of Transportation will be holding National Motorcoach Safety Summit this September in Washington, DC.

The hope is to develop a plan to increase motorcoach safety awareness, enforcement, and education; establish innovative and collaborative policies and countermeasures; to exchange information and ideas on the best possible approaches to … Read the rest

Court of Appeals Applies Both New York Law and Ontario Law to Fatal Bus Crash

In Edwards v. Erie Coach Lines Company, 131, NYLJ 1202499068316 (Decided June 30, 2011), New York States highest court was called upon to answer a choice-of-law question regarding a motor vehicle accident wherein a charter bus carrying members of an Ontario women’s hockey team plowed into the rear-end of a tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder of the highway near Geneseo, New York on January 19, 2005. Four bus passengers and the trailer’s driver died; several bus passengers were seriously hurt. The charter bus’s driver, his employer, and the company that leased the bus are Ontario domiciliaries, as are (or … Read the rest

Bus Safety Subject of Legislative Attention Following Last Weeks Charter Bus Crashes

In 2009, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) released the Motor Coach Safety Action Plan setting forth concrete steps for improving motorcoach safety. The action plan addresses major safety issues such as driver fatigue and inattention, vehicle rollover, occupant ejections and oversight of unsafe carriers. With the two recent fatal charter bus accidents, efforts are being speed up the implementation of the safety improvements. Available technology includes collision warning systems that alert drivers to obstacles in their paths and tell them when they are swerving from their lanes, strengthening bus roofs so that they aren’t sheared off, as … Read the rest

New York City Council to Consider Licensing Procedure for Pedicabs

Anyone walking the streets of Manhattan is aware of the prevalence of pedicabs, pedal-powered tourist-friendly tricycles. Pedicab owners estimate that there were about 1,000 pedicabs in the city. But what if someone suffers personal injuries while a passenger in one or is involved in an accident with one? Who will pay for the injuries and damage caused?

New York State has financial responsibility requirements for motor vehicles and motorcycles. Not so for pedicabs. In an effort to change that, the city will move forward with its long-stalled regulation of pedicabs by establishing a licensing procedure. Licenses would be issued to … Read the rest