New research provided to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) showed that speed limiters were effective at preventing speed-related truck crashes. The report indicated that those trucks with the devices had a collision rate for "speed limiter-relevant" crashes that was 50 percent lower than semis without speed limiters.

The overall crash rate was also lower for trucks equipped with speed limiters compared to those without the devices.

The President of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) supported the findings of the report, "This study confirms what ATA has been saying for years- speed kills and one of the most effective ways to prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of crashes on our highways is to slow all vehicles down, including large trucks."

Regulators appear to be moving swiftly on issuing a rule that would require speed limiters on all heavy trucks, many of which are already equipped with the devices.

Source: TheTrucker.com, Speed limiter report: Trucks with devices had 50% lower 'speed-limiter relevant' crash rate, The Trucker News Service, 27 March 2012

In Manhattan earlier this month, an elevator suddenly lurched upwards as a woman attempted to step into the elevator car. She became pinned between the wall of the elevator shaft and the car, suffering fatal injuries.

Finally, felony assault charges were filed this month against an elevator mechanic stemming from a December 2010 incident. In that accident a woman's leg became trapped between the elevator shaft and car. She was dragged for several floors resulting in most of her leg becoming mangled. The mechanic allegedly took a shortcut to fix the elevator prior to the accident.

These recent events have highlighted the potential dangers of elevators where riders can become trapped with no way to escape. An estimated 27 people in the U.S. die each year as the result of elevator accidents. Considering the roughly 18 billion trips elevators make per year such accidents are relatively rare. However, even one elevator accident fatality is too many.

Source: Los Angeles Times, New York is scene of recent bizarre and deadly elevator incidents, 18 December 2011

The company's driver had violated the "hours of service" regulations that govern how many hours a driver can stay on the road and how long they have to rest. The report showed the company routinely violated these regulations.

The driver of the fatal bus was indicted on manslaughter charges, and the FMCSA shut down World Wide Travel. But that is not the end of the story. World Wide Travel may have been closed, but the Times reports that buses and drivers were transferred to another Brooklyn company owned by the same person who owned World Wide Travel.

The FMCSA can shut down a bus company for safety violations. The problem is often the business reappears weeks or months later with little more than a name change. This happens so frequently that in 2009 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report after a bus accident in 2008 killed 17 in Sherman, Texas.

That report found nine percent of closed bus companies reopen as newly named entities. Twenty "out of service" carriers had "morphed" or "reincarnated" as differently named carriers.

Changing names is perfectly legal. It makes tracking dangerous carriers difficult, but there is nothing that prohibits a company from "going out of business" and then reappearing with a new name.

The FMCSA has limited resources to attempt to discover these rouge bus companies. Stricter enforcement will probably require additional regulations and more funding.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) noted in response to the report, sometimes companies transfer ownership for bona fide reasons, and detecting and proving a "reincarnation" done to avoid detection by authorities is labor-intensive and demands additional documentation beyond a normal compliance review.

Source: The New York Times, After Bronx Crash, a Bus Fleet Stays on the Road, Christine Negroni, 4 October 2011

One witness to the public transportation accident reported hearing a "boom" and then seeing bus passengers stumble off the bus as those in the nearby vicinity rushed to help. The 15 injured passengers were taken to a nearby hospital. Luckily none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

Although it is not clear what caused the Bronx bus accident, this incident along with the recent series of other bus accidents in New York, highlight the need for bus drivers and passengers to be more vigilant about bus safety.

If you are a bus passenger the MTA suggests the following safety tips:

• Never lean against the rear door or stand in the stairwell/rear door step
• Stay behind the white line at the front of the bus
• If you are traveling with a stroller it should remain folded while on the bus
• To ensure the bus operator has adequate time to stop smoothly, make sure you signal two blocks prior to your desired stop

Although bus passengers cannot control if a bus driver makes a mistake causing a collision, they can take safety precautions themselves to help avoid potential bus accidents and injuries.

Source: 15 Injured After MTA Bus Collides With Two Cars In The Bronx

What is the FMCSA Strategic Plan?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) was formed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in January 2000, and charged with reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles. Since its creation, the rate of US traffic fatalities involving commercial vehicles has fallen to the lowest level since 1975, the year the DOT began tracking data.

In an effort to make America's highways even safer and further decrease truck accidents, the FMCSA, has drafted a three-part, five-year strategic plan. The details of this plan, titled "Raising the Bar," were released earlier this summer.

Trucking Industry Response

Still, many industry organizations feel that the FMCSA plan doesn't go far enough. While lauding the association's efforts, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) would like to see such a plan address passenger motorists as well as commercial carriers. By only focusing on just one side of the issue, the ATA feels the plan fails to address the cause of up to 70 percent of truck accidents, those caused by motorists in passenger vehicles.

Source: FMCSA safety plan deemphasizes cars: ATA

The drop in filed bankruptcies was a fairly impressive 6.2 percent drop from May, and an even better 10 percent decrease compared to June 2010. Bankruptcy filings in New York were down five percent. These figures seem to offer a glimmer of hope; some may begin thinking things may finally be looking up for the economy. According to experts, however, this optimistic view may be a slight jump of the gun.

Experts point out that although factors like unemployment and foreclosures may impact the rate of bankruptcies, bankruptcy filings seem to be most closely tied to consumer credit and debt. Therefore what may be driving the decline in bankruptcies is the fact that Americans had less access to credit the past few years and thus less debt to discharge. Now consumers are being given more credit, so consumers can use this additional credit to get them through rough financial times. In sum, the fact that fewer Americans filed for bankruptcy does not necessarily provide evidence that the economy is any healthier.

Chapter 7 bankruptcies have made up the majority of bankruptcy filings this year, almost 70 percent. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy provides those buried in debt with a fresh financial start. This type of bankruptcy is contingent on qualification, as filers must prove through a means test that they are unable to meet their current debt burden.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy essentially restructures debts into an affordable three to five year repayment plan. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can prevent the loss of homes to foreclosure, but requires the filer to honor portions of their debt over the course of time. A little less than 28 percent of bankruptcy filings this year fell under Chapter 13. Mostly commercial filings make up the remaining cases.

Declining bankruptcy filings, however, should allow for some optimism. Even if the drop in bankruptcies is a result of shifts in available consumer credit rather than an improving economy, at least it indicates that perhaps the debt burden of Americans is decreasing.

Source: Fewer Americans File for Bankruptcy

Just such a bus accident occurred in the early hours of June 27, 2011 when a tourist bus owned by Mr. Ho Charter Service slammed into the rear end of a tractor-trailer. The accident occurred on a Pennsylvania turnpike, while the bus was heading to New York.

The 39-year-old driver of New York City was killed. Twenty-three unsuspecting passengers were injured.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) discovered that the charter bus company was currently in violation of several safety rules on top of having a record of safety offenses. It had failed to administer the required drug tests to either the driver or the co-driver. Both drivers had also falsified their driving logs to make it appear as if they had the required eight-hour rest breaks before driving again.

After the June 7 review, the company was cited and heavily fined. Still, Mr. Ho Charter Service continued to allow drivers to operate passenger-filled buses without proper rest or drug screenings. Finally, last month the FMCSA shut the bus company down, making it the second bus company the agency closed down in a 24 hour period.

Most of us assume that bus companies put the safety of their passengers first, and that bus drivers do too. But as is so often the case, the temptation to make as much money as quickly as possible, gets in the way. Unfortunately, when we see buses barreling down the highway, aiming for tourist towns and casinos, it is not always safe to assume that the person in the driver's seat is aware and alert.

Source: FMCSA reveals second bus firm put OOS within 24-hour period

Robert Sinclair, of AAA New York, stated, "It might, perhaps, take some sort of re-engineering of the roadway itself. It's a tricky maneuver, a so-called slalom maneuver. A vehicle has to make a right turn followed by a quick left."

The city's Department of Transportation has already taken some steps to improve safety on the ramp. Recently it installed white rumble strips, warnings signs, barricades and flashing lights in an attempt to alert drivers of the need to drive slowly and carefully. These measures, however, failed to prevent yet another crash last month.

Lack of proper lighting may also have been a factor since the three accidents all occurred between 4 and 5:30 a.m. The city will be doing further analysis of the accident-prone area in light of the most recent crash.

Hopefully officials will move quickly to make further safety improvements and prevent additional car accidents. Sinclair urges the city to "Act and act now."

Source: AAA Calls For Immediate Improvements to Accident-Marred Ed Koch Bridge