Note: The following is a completely fictitious article that wed really like to publish one day soon.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found hundreds of violations of federal transportation regulations and assessed tens of thousands of dollars in fines during a special strike force investigation of more than 100 rouge bus companies operating across the U.S.

"Interstate bus companies with unsafe and illegal operations are hereby put on notice: Federal investigators will soon be knocking on your door and you will face serious legal and financial consequences," said John H. Hill, FMCSA administrator. "During this strike force alone, 50 companies received federal fines in excess of $150,000."

From Sept. 15 through Sept. 25, the FMCSA, working in cooperation with state law enforcement agencies, conducted focused compliance reviews on suspected outlaw motorcoach companies.

Among the violations the FMCSA and state inspectors found were companies operating without federal authority, with no drug and alcohol testing programs, and with lousy or nonexistent records, poorly maintained buses with numerous out-of-service items, drivers with expired CDLs and/or medical certificates, deceptive log books, and buses with no or illegal license plates.

The United Motorcoach Association praised the strike force, saying in a statement: "UMA supports the efforts of the federal government in working to eliminate rogue operators and to ensure bus companies are in full compliance. We share this goal and continue to push for strong federal enforcement of interstate carriers.

"UMA has supported increased funding for the FMCSA to properly carry out its enforcement responsibilities, and will again do so during consideration of the federal highway reauthorization legislation during the next session of Congress."

The strike force focused on states like Texas that appear to have a disproportionate number of rouge companies based on data generated during destination and roadside inspections.