Bus crash in Arizona that killed 6 being used to confuse the Mexican truck issue

Bus crash in Arizona that killed 6 being used to confuse the Mexican truck issue

Posted on Mar 9, 2010 in News & Views by PMC Comments Off

The bus belonging to TIERRA SANTA,  that rolled over on a busy interstate outside Phoenix, killing six people and leaving 16 others injured early Friday, is now being used as an example by opponents of allowing Mexican trucks on our highways (although they’ve been here for decades) and in others are using it in their vile opposition to reforming immigration and as an opportunity to bash Mexicans.

The bus, a late model Mercedes Benz Marcopolo,  was traveling from the central Mexican state of Zacatecas to Los Angeles.

It entered the United States at El Paso, Texas, and was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 with 22 passengers when it hit a pickup, veered onto the left shoulder of the road, then overcorrected in the opposite direction and rolled once before landing on its wheels. The roof of the bus was crushed and all of its windows were knocked out.

The crash occurred about 5:30 a.m. MST on the Gila River Indian Reservation near the community of Sacaton, some 25 miles south of downtown Phoenix. Two men and four women were thrown about 10 yards from the bus and killed.

The FMCSA says the bus was operating without the required %5 million dollar liability required of interstate bus companies and had been denied interstate operating authority. We also confirmed this on the FMCSA  SAFERSYS site.

A DIFFERENT STANDARD FOR BUSES

Tierra Santa, based in Los Angeles and Durango Mexico, is common of a problem we have in the United States when it concerns enforcement of motor vehicle laws between buses and big rigs.

While the regulations and rules are basically the same for both classes of vehicles, Federal rules for buses, are rarely enforced on the road, because of the inconvenience to the passengers.

You rarely see a Greyhound bus pulled over for a roadside inspection or being cited for speeding or other moving violations. Passenger convenience. This time, 22 people were inconvenienced, 6 permanently, and several will be paralyzed for life.

Driver fatigue will probably be ruled out, as this bus, as do the majority of buses that operate in and out of Mexico, had two drivers on board. The drivers changed when they crossed the border at El Paso, and were scheduled to change again in Phoenix.  Buses used in Mexico such as the Mercedes Benz involved in the accident have sleeper compartments for the “associate driver” located on the right side, forward of the baggage bays.

Buses from Mexico have been allowed to operate scheduled routes in the United States since 1992 and US buses have had the same rights to operate in Mexico.

FMCSA TO GO “REACTIVE” ONCE AGAIN

As we said, this has nothing to do with the fitness and capability of Mexican trucks to operate in the United States, nor should it be a condemnation of multi national buses operating here. This was an accident, pure and simple, although an accident which is the fault of the bus driver since it was a rear end collision.

But those of us who’ve traveled that highway no the manner in which the idiots in the four wheelers drive, cutting in and out of traffic, driving 20 miles below the speed limit in the left lane. And let’s not forget the proximity to the Indian casino. All that being said……

The accident should not have happened. The bus should not have been operating on US highways. It had been denied operating authority and without required insurance.

Don’t blame Mexico for this one. You want to point the finger, point it at law enforcement.

FMCSA will now be cracking down on these buses, in a “reactive manner”, as they did in the summer of 2008 after the crash in Sherman Texas revealed the problems with Houston based charter companies.

We can also expect to see the reintroduction of Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act. which would not only address interstate bus safety, but would slip ELECTRONIC ONBOARD RECORDERS (EOBR’s), not just into buses, but into ALL COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES.

JUST ENFORCE THE DAMNED LAWS EQUALLY

A novel concept I know, and to hell with the inconvenience to passengers.

The bus crossed at El Paso. Buses coming out of Mexico are not required under current rules, to cross at a commercial crossing where FMCSA or DPS inspectors have facilities.

So the bus crossed at El Paso. The next point it could have been inspected was on I-10 in Anthony New Mexico, at the NM POE. Interstate buses have to have NM HUT documents, although now they’re tied to the USDOT numbers, the cab card having been done away with. Did they stop at the POE or were they allowed to bypass it?

Next down the road would have been the CBP Immigration check point, where for the second time the bus would have been inspected for illegals and contraband in the cargo bays, but not for operating authority.

Then you have the Arizona POE. Did they stop there? Were they required to stop? And why after being put out of service in the past in New Mexico, Arizona and by the FMCSA on one occasion, were they even still operating.

And don’t forget California and Banning scales, although I don’t recall ever seeing buses being pulled in for inspections.

One would imagine though, that after being put Out of Service on previous occasions, the owner of Tierra Santa simply made a call to a buddy in the business and cut a trip lease on the spot that enabled the TS bus to continue on it’s way.

But at this point, the drivers, both Mexican nationals, appear to have been properly licensed, operating legally under the Hours of Service rules and most likely knew nothing about the lack of operating authority and insurance.

Because of the intensive ID checks at the border and at the CBP Immigration check in New Mexico, it is doubtful that this was a bus full of illegals as some are suggesting across the internet.

Simply another tragic accident that happened because of poor oversight by Federal and State authorities.

But hey, they’re too damned busy worrying about the truck drivers with a mud flap flopping to much, or a bit of a belly hanging over his belt or similar stupidities such as revising the medical rules so as to put a new class of young, stupid, inexperienced “super truckers” on the roads who are physically fit.

Go figure!
PHOTO SOURCE – David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Tags: Arizona bus crash, Arizona DPS, FMCSA, Illegal operation, Tierra Santa