Overall, Carriers Have Good Safety Records

The bus industry is generally well regarded by safety officials.

“Most companies do fine work,” said Nick Walsh, regional director of the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carriers in San Francisco. “We don’t have a problem with the large percentage of them.”

Still, over the years there have been some tragic crashes involving gamblers’ specials:

* Last September, nearly 60 senior citizens from Norwalk were injured near Reno when a car driven by an off-duty Nevada Highway Patrol officer strayed into the path of a Redondo Beach charter bus. The officer died. A rain-slicked highway was blamed for the crash.

* In January, 1990, 31 passengers from Los Angeles received minor injuries when the Greyhound bus in which they were riding flipped on its side and skidded in the rain as the driver changed lanes on Interstate 15 near Las Vegas.

* In October, 1989, a Los Angeles bus with passengers from East Los Angeles, Oxnard and Santa Barbara flipped over on Interstate 15 west of the Las Vegas strip when the driver tried to swerve out of the way of a car on a wet highway. Forty passengers were injured. The Nevada Highway Patrol blamed the crash on faulty bus brakes.

* In May, 1987, eight people died and four others were injured after a 14-passenger van carrying gamblers home to Los Angeles from Las Vegas went out of control and smashed into a center divider on Interstate 15 about 45 miles southwest of Las Vegas. California Highway Patrol officials said the tour operator, Doremi Tours of Los Angeles, was in violation of as many as 30 state and federal laws. It was ordered to cease all operations in California.

* In May, 1986, 21 elderly riders returning to Santa Monica from a Reno gambling holiday died when their bus plunged into an icy Sierra Nevada river near Bridgeport, Calif. Officials said excessive speed caused the accident. The driver of the Starline Tours charter bus, Ernst A. Klimeck, pleaded guilty to six counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in state prison.

All interstate carriers are required to file their rates and proof of adequate insurance with the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Office of Motor Carriers is responsible for enforcing safety regulations that include licensing, driver qualifications, hours of operation and maintenance.

Walsh said drivers are required to inspect their buses before every trip and must prepare vehicle inspection reports that include any defects noticed during a trip. Repairs must be made before the bus is used again.

“There are certainly times when it doesn’t happen,” said Walsh, “but when we find that out, we take enforcement.”

Vehicles are sometimes pulled off the road by federal investigators or by highway patrol officers, he said. “If there are problems, they will have the motor carrier send up a spare bus.”

Since January, 1990, Walsh’s office has received 14 complaints on buses, seven of them from Southern California. The complaints, he said, usually have to do with bad or tired drivers or mechanical problems, such as bald tires.

Sometimes carriers are fined for violations, he said. A new law will enable the Office of Motor Carriers to shut down a bus company if it fails to improve an unsatisfactory rating within 45 days.

“In any aspect of the bus or truck industry, a small percentage of motor carriers may not be pursuing their maintenance with the necessary vigor,” said Walsh. “And there are perhaps some companies that push their drivers too much.

“When we get complaints, we follow up with a prompt investigation. . . . If you are riding a bus and you notice the driver is falling asleep or the brakes are out of line, we would welcome the information.”

For information about a company’s safety rating or to file a complaint, contact Walsh’s office at (415) 744-3088, or write to the Office of Motor Carriers, 211 Main St., Room 1100, San Francisco, Calif. 94105. There is also a field office in El Monte at 9550 Flair Drive, Room 505, 91731.