There are small but disconcerting signs that the safety performance of the motorcoach industry is not all it could be.
The most obvious came during Roadcheck 2004, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's massive annual roadside inspection exercise, where an army of inspectors checks more than 50,000 commercial vehicles during a 72-hour stretch.
Nearly 600 over-the-road buses were inspected this year and the out-of-service rate approached 10 percent, meaning that nearly one out of 10 of the coaches checked shouldn't have been on the highway.
At the same time, the number of drivers put out of service climbed by nearly one-third from last year.
Clearly, this is not good news.
Out-of-service rate increases can cause the industry big problems with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and state road safety officials when the industry argues about its "exemplary" safety record. Industry credibility simply goes flying out the tail pipe.
There is a widespread sense among responsible coach operators that there are a growing number of unsafe and illegal operators on the road that are giving the industry a black eye. There is no easy way to prove or disprove this notion but, as Brain Crow of the Ontario Motorcoach Association recently noted, visible, effective enforcement by DOT, FMCSA and states and provinces could do much to level the playing field, assuring everyone is abiding by the rules.
But as this publication and its predecessor have noted before, living up to the rules simply isn't enough. Higher out-of-service rates auger for going beyond the mandates of the law to help assure a safe future for your passengers, as well as your company.
Here are five ways operators can go beyond the rules:
Set your own standards. By conducting a diligent background check for every driver, you have the right to refuse employment when the results don't match your criteria. Suspicious gaps in employment may mean someone was drying out, coming down, or getting off.
Get more involved. Drivers deserve to have a private life, but their choice of a career is full-time. That means you have a right to know where and when they work at a second job, and it means you have a right to be concerned about their lifestyle - diet, wellness, physical fitness. Don't be bashful about offering help.
Empower your safety director. An experienced, skeptical and hard-nosed safety director can be one of your best protections against deception, deceit and shoddy medical exams.
Retain your own reviewing physician. Find your own medical review officer to examine all driver long forms, looking for inconsistencies and red flags.
Review the long form. You have a right to require the submission of the driver's medical examination long form. Familiarize yourself with all the disqualifying medical conditions (found in the FMCSR Part 391, Subpart E.) Make sure the examining doctor understood all of the rules.
Going beyond the mandates of the law should be part of the daily routine.