WASHINGTON When the National Transportation Safety Board completed its 17-month investigation of the tragic 2005 Hurricane Rita evacuation bus fire, one of the shortcomings it uncovered was that federal regulations do not require inspection or adequate lubrication of wheel bearings to prevent failures that can turn into wheel-well fires.

That conclusion and the investigation focused high-level attention on one of the more mundane requirements of operating a motorcoach and motorcoach company -- the pre-trip inspection.

Failure by the company that operated the burned bus to routinely inspect the hub oil level, and its illegal immigrant driver to routinely conduct pre-trip inspections, was cited as a prime reason for the conflagration near Wilmer, Texas, that took the lives of 23 care-home residents.

The bus owner, James Maples, told investigators he didnt pay his drivers to conduct pre-trip inspections, an admission that outraged NTSB board members.

Bus industry safety experts say the failure to perform pre-trip inspections often rests with both operators and drivers. Even though Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require pre- and post-trip inspections, Maples and his driver arent alone in giving short shrift to the rules, say experts.

Additionally, there is criticism by some operators of the driver vehicle-inspection forms available from industry suppliers, and other criticism aimed at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for failing to keep its inspection requirements contemporaneous with changes occurring in the newest motorcoaches and trucks.

"Most of these forms and the regulations that go with them are far out of date," says William D. McCreary, president of American Charter Coach in Aurora, Ill. "There is no reason why we have to wait for the regulations to catch up when the industry itself could take some leadership on these forms. The bus industry needs its own forms."

McCreary observes that coach manufacturers usually give good recommendations for maintenance "which may or may not be carried out by the operators in their forms."

In its findings related to the Wilmer bus fire, the NTSB urged Motor Coach Industries to revise its product maintenance manuals to emphasize the importance of wheel bearing lubrication, specifically warning that daily inspection of hub oil levels and wheel seals is vital to prevent wheel bearing failure and bypassing the requirement is a dangerous practice that can lead to a wheel-well fire or other serious consequences.

The value of inspections
Graham Dunnege of Lancer Insurance, former maintenance director of New York Trailways and former chairman of the Bus Industry Safety Council, says the value of pre-trip inspections "is priceless."

However, he notes that some bus drivers take driver vehicle inspections "with a grain of salt. They figure they should be able to assume its a good, reliable bus," says Dunnege.

But federal safety rules are clear, requiring drivers to check, prior to each days trip, such things as service brakes, parking brakes, steering, headlights, flashers, tire pressure, wheels, rims, the horn, windshield wipers, rear-vision mirrors and emergency equipment.

Are drivers or operators to blame for laxity in performing pre-trip inspections?

Replies Dunnege: "Its a little of both. Some drivers say, 'They dont pay me to take 30 minutes to do these inspections. Drivers can do good pre-trip inspections in 15 minutes. Theyre not laying on the ground under the bus. Theyre in uniform. But, the way I read the regulations, its required once every 24 hours."

Whos responsible?
The federal rules say it is the responsibility of the operator to require its drivers to perform an inspection and record the results. But beyond that, it will be the driver who ends up along side the road when a coach becomes disabled and upwards of 50 angry passengers are looking to him or her for answers.

"Tires dont blow out," says Dunnege. Heat build-up destroys them, and the heat develops when a tire is under-inflated by 15-to-20 percent.

"If its an inside tire, the driver doesnt know anything is wrong until there is a big noise," he says. "In theory, the tire has been flat or low for some time."

Just as checking the air pressure of tires is fairly simple, checking the oil level of wheel bearings that require lubrication and inspection also is easy. A clear window cap on the end of the axles needs to be eyeballed.

But, as the NTSB investigation pointed out, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations do not require that wheel ends be inspected. And, the driver vehicle inspection reports published by such companies as J.J. Keller & Associates of Neenah, Wis., do not list wheel bearings, seals and ends as an inspection item.

Chuck Richards, a senior product development manager for J.J. Keller, said Keller reviews its standard driver vehicle inspection report forms "quite frequently," but he acknowledged they rely heavily on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for determining what should be included on the forms. "Thats the template we work from," he said.

However, Richards expressed interest in the NTSB recommendations regarding wheel bearing inspections, indicating Keller would look into the issue.

McCreary of American Charter is firmly convinced vehicle inspection forms should include wheel bearing inspections, and he also thinks drivers should be checking for wheel-end overheating during walk-around inspections at stopovers during charters. Additionally, he thinks drivers should be responsible for conducting push-out window inspections, which federal rules require at least every 90 days, as well as the roof-hatch inspection.

McCreary is concerned, too, about new coaches having "so much more to inspect and that should be included."

Proper procedures
Chip Springer, head of maintenance at Mears Transportation in Orlando, says an important aspect of pre-trip inspections is for the driver to review the report of the previous driver.

"Look at what the guy wrote the day before," says Springer. "If he or she is not satisfied, the bus cant go out until the mechanic makes the necessary repairs and signs the report. If its a torn seat and they dont have the material, thats OK. But if its a torn tire, then the bus cant go out."

Springer says some drivers are more thorough about inspection checks than others. Mears monitors driver inspection performance by conducting periodic spot checks at the bus yard exit gates.

"Well stop a driver and ask for their DVIR (driver vehicle inspection report)," Springer says. "(Then) well do our own pre-trip inspection. We might find a bad tire that the driver didnt notice. It keeps them honest. Its the last line of defense."

Springer also raised another key issue about pre-trip inspections: Theyre boring. "There is a certain amount of tedium involved," he says. "How many times are you going to look at the tires and the belts. If you do it every day, you could turn a blind eye and just go through the motions. The driver might think he did a good pre-trip yesterday, so its probably OK today."

The Coach America way
Steve Kuenzi, safety manager at Coach America in Phoenix, says his company requires its driver to conduct a pre-trip inspection every day, even on tours lasting several days. "We usually allow a minimum of 30 minutes for a good pre-trip inspection," he says.

Failure of drivers to conduct inspections, or operators to insist on them, is not as widespread as it once was, says Kuenzi, partly because of government oversight and better-running equipment.

"Besides, the investment (in a coach) is so great, it pays to keep them running," he says. "But certainly, for some companies their preventative maintenance is sub par. Then it becomes pointless for drivers to point out problems when they know they arent being fixed."

Operators become lax, says Kuenzi, as a cost-cutting measure. "Repairs cost money, and when cash flow is not there, companies do foolish things."

A veteran safety expert, Kuenzi offers this advice to drivers: "We tell our drivers, 'Youre the eyes and ears of the maintenance department. What you see, feel or hear needs to be relayed to the maintenance department to prevent serious issues. Good pre-trip and post-trip inspections pay off in the long run."