Look Before You Book That Bus : Low cost isn’t only factor to consider when chartering transit for the kids

Are church and civic groups just rolling the dice when they pick a charter bus company?

Two bus crashes in the Coachella Valley involving young people on group outings have drawn attention to the question of bus safety and driver competence. After the latest accident, which occurred last Friday, the driver admitted he had used cocaine on the day he transported a group of Orange County teen-age girls and chaperons bound for a church retreat; the Long Beach firm for which he drove fired him this week.

The uncertainty of who’s behind the wheel can be reduced by consulting first with the California Highway Patrol. It annually inspects bus firms and works with the state Public Utilities Commission in an effort to eliminate unsafe buses and problem drivers.

John Davis, a CHP supervisory inspector, says groups too frequently allow bottom-line considerations to influence their choice of a carrier.

The CHP encourages groups to inquire about the reliability of companies. Call (213) 664-1108 in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and (619) 237-6811 in Orange, San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties. The CHP generally knows which firms are dependable and which aren’t.

Groups should consider asking a charter company to send a bus with seat belts. Belts are not required by law, but according to Dr. Phyllis Agran, a UC Irvine pediatrician who specializes in injury prevention, the restraints may prevent occupants from becoming unguided missiles in a crash, sparing them serious injury or allowing them to remain conscious and escape afterward. Chaperons should insist that seat belts be used.

There still is no guarantee against the occasional problem vehicle, such as one that plunged last July into a gully below the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. But as last Friday’s accident near Palm Desert suggests, it’s time for regulations requiring drug tests for bus drivers--and it is appropriate that the U.S. Department of Transportation is now developing such rules.

Meanwhile, the risk of having a pleasant occasion turn tragic can be minimized through careful planning by consumers.