February 15, 2014 Accord may set UNITED MOTORCOACH ASSOCIATION FMCSA powers diabetic standard MOTORCOACH EXPO 2014 expanded again for coach drivers with latest rule ROSELAND, N.J. — In a po- WASHINGTON — The Federal tentially far-reaching action, Coach Motor Carriers Safety Administra- USA announced it has agreed to a tion can shut down a motorcoach op- new medical protocol for employ- eration if the company or a company ing drivers with diabetes. officer has shown “egregious disre- The protocol will ensure public gard” for safety and committed a safety and protect disability rights, pattern of unsafe practices, a rule say those involved in the arrange- published last month states. ment, which includes the compa- The rule, “Patterns of Safety Vio- ny, the AARP Foundation Litiga- lations,” empowers the FMCSA to tion and the American Diabetes yank the operating authority of rein- Association. carnated companies and other high- The agreement also is designed risk carriers that endanger travelers “to resolve certain legal challeng- by attempting to conceal a history of es” related to the company’s previ- flaunting safety regulations, accord- ous diabetes policies. ing to the FMCSA. Coach USA has been wrestling “The new rule complements a with the issue of diabetic drivers rule adopted by the agency in 2012 to for more than a decade. apply out-of-service orders to reincar- Motorcoaching to L.A. UMA Motorcoach Convention Center on Feb. 16. Late show and ex- nated or chameleon carriers and to In 2009, three diabetic Coach Expo at Travel Exchange lands in the Los Angeles hibitor news can be found beginning on Page 14. USA drivers sued the company, consolidate their enforcement histo- claiming it discriminated against ries. (It) goes one step further by au- them with unwarranted suspen- New ‘toolbox’ promises results thorizing a complete revocation of the sions — without pay — if their motor carrier’s authority to operate,” urine tested positive for high glu- Two weeks. the easiest way available to market your own information and images according to an FMCSA statement. FMCSA officials say the agency cose levels. The drivers claimed That’s all it would take to pres- your company. to create everything from postcards recognizes the severity of the penal- Coach USA’s action violated New ent your company as the leading The toolkit has everything you to bus wraps, email templates to ty, and foresees imposing it in a lim- Jersey disability discrimination law. motorcoach operation in your area. need built in: slick, sophisticated business cards and other items. ited number of cases each year. It At the time, Coach USA said it How? templates for 15 marketing cam- No special software is needed estimates the rule would have been allowed diabetics — who are not With the help of the new Op- paigns, training videos and a low- — just get online and go for it. applied a half-dozen times last year. dependent on insulin — to work as erator Toolbox the Motorcoach cost option for printed materials. Best of all, the training videos The final rule cites a fatal bus drivers, provided the company Marketing Council is unveiling Using it is as simple as choos- include guidance on the most ef- crash in August 2008 in Sherman, deems the disease is controlled this month at UMA Motorcoach ing a campaign for either an affin- fective ways to put marketing col- Texas, that killed 17 passengers and with oral medication, diet and Expo at Travel Exchange in Los ity group (seniors, wedding parties lateral to work. injured the driver and 38 other people. medical supervision. Angeles. or schools, among others), or an at- Finally, a way to turn your order Investigations by the FMCSA, Without those controls, drivers It’s streamlined, yet complete- tribute (such as luxury, safety or takers into successful marketers, CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 c the National Transportation Safety run risks, including losing con- ly customizable, and it may just be earth-friendliness), then filling in Board and others “revealed that the sciousness on the road from hyper- motor carrier was operating without glycemia or hypoglycemia, a com- authority, was a reincarnation of an- pany spokeswoman told USA ‘Smart solutions’ battle weather States across the U.S. have increased their use of cock, president of the American Association of State other bus company that had been Today in 2011. recently placed out of service for technology and “smart solutions” to battle the affects Highway and Transportation Officials and secretary The drivers said in their suit safety violations, and that both com- of severe winter weather. of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. that those symptoms occur for panies were under the control of the Tech solutions like GPS guidance systems and Here are examples of ways states are keeping ve- some insulin-dependent diabetics same person,” the rule states. but are extremely rare among low-tech products like potato juice are helping states hicles moving this winter. “FMCSA determined that the those who do not use insulin. to remove snow and ice from roadways while keeping The Alaska Department of Transportation and companies’ flagrant disregard for The drivers also said they were costs in check, improving efficiency, and minimizing Public Facilities uses a variety of advanced technolo- safety under this person’s control type 2 diabetics who didn’t require environmental impacts. gies to combat extreme winter weather. This year, demonstrated a hazard to the safety insulin. “New technologies are being tested and imple- ADOT&PF became one of the first agencies in the of the motoring public,” it states. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 c mented by state DOTs every day,” says Mike Han- CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 c CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 c PERMIT NO 1424 NO PERMIT PHOENIX AZ PHOENIX US POSTAGE PAID POSTAGE US PRESORT STD PRESORT Postmaster: Please deliver on or before 2/15/14 before or on deliver Please Postmaster: HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? Van Hool service-friendly coaches are designed to deliver low cost of operation. Featuring interchangeable parts and standardized engine layouts, Van Hool models offer quick access to routine maintenance areas for fast, easy serviceability and parts replacement. Discover how simplified repairs, fast service turnarounds and reduced maintenance dollars add up to low total cost of owning a Van Hool coach. VAN HOOL MOTORCOACHES AVERAGED < $0.20 PER MILE in cost of operation for preventive and corrective maintenance repair in a recent analysis of operators maintenance records. abc-companies.com Bus & Motorcoach News INDUSTRY NEWS February 15, 2014 3 Over-zealous cop suffers setbacks in California, but… LOS ANGELES — California open to question interpretations of for the zealous officer with the mercial officers. But he’s lost two Judge James K. Hahn, former motorcoach operators have scored the law, CVC Section 35400(a), Culver City Police Department, of the last two bus cases,” Seal said. mayor of Los Angeles, ruled in the back-to-back victories in court which allows 45-foot buses to op- who has handed out at least two- In the first case, a driver for driver’s favor and dismissed the against a Culver City, Calif., po- erate on interstates and other fed- dozen citations to bus drivers from Bauer’s Transportation was on a $190 fine. lice officer who is notorious for erally funded highways, and grants five different companies. regularly scheduled airport FlyA- “We won that case. Now, why enforcing a state law that bans them reasonable access to the The aggressive officer encour- way-service run from Los Angeles we won it is somewhat unclear,” buses over 40-feet-long from op- highways. ages other commercial police of- International Airport to the San said Seal. erating on all but certain routes. What’s still unclear, Seal said, ficers to copy his hard-line tactics, Fernando Valley. “Clearly (Hahn) understood The decisions handed down in is what constitutes “reasonable ac- and had by last summer enlisted The driver bypassed the I-405 that this was a regularly scheduled a Los Angeles-area traffic court in cess” and whether the law extends support from at least 12 other of- freeway because of traffic conges- service, there was the question of December and January were im- to the national highway system, ficers throughout the Los Angeles tion, and was traveling on a main the congestion on the 405, the in- portant wins for operators, says which includes federal highways region, according to one Califor- thoroughfare within a mile from terstate, and the driver was keep- Jim Seal, a Santa Monica, Calif.- and some 20,000 extra miles of nia operator. the freeway in Culver City when ing to a schedule,” he said. based consultant for the California state highways. “Nobody is interpreting this as the officer stopped the bus and is- “And this was a contract ser- Bus Association. Nonetheless, Seal said the strictly as he is, but he’s trying to sued a ticket. vice to the city of Los Angeles, of However, he said, the cases left cases were the first known defeats expand his influence to other com- Los Angeles Superior Court CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 c South Carolina operators oppose school bus privatization COLUMBIA, S.C. — State Carolina operators suggest that tizing of school bus operations in program for the three counties, it coverage areas so massive – one lawmakers here probably won’t turning over student transportation three of the most heavily populat- did it in a way that not only was 1,000 square miles – it was make a second run at trying to services to private businesses actu- ed counties in the state, Charles- squeezed out operators in the state impossible for any of the more privatize the state’s school bus op- ally could be disastrous for many ton, Dorchester and Beaufort.