Again its a "who will stop me" attitude out there on the road.
Bill de Blasio go to Albany and lobby for heavier fines and take some of these losers off the road.
After his arrest and conviction in 2015, Mr. Mong should have never been allowed to drive professionally again. DUI and fleeing the scene of an accident yielded 18 months probation and a suspended sentence. Almost impossible to believe.
5
When the law allows you to kill with a vehicle and only suffer a traffic ticket things like this will continue to happen. Get rid of all non commercial vehicle traffic in NYC and install rails down the middle of the streets.
The bus industry needs regulation. Maybe we should go back to the Greyhound/Trailways model from 50 years ago.
2
As long as traffic accidents are not taken seriously in NYC, this will happen. Drunk drivers, reckless drivers, distracted drivers, drivers who lack drivers licenses, drivers who kill and maim-- most of them get a slap on the wrist in our courts. That is, if their accidents are even investigated! So what do you expect?
5
How is it possible these companies get to buy expensive MCI and Van Hool coaches, yet can only afford to hire problematic drivers?
7
I agree with all the comments about the safety oversight of this industry. That said, consider that the driver may have had a medical event. The video shows him speeding through the intersection, very very fast, and no indication of any attempt to slow down or avoid the crash. Hold your judgements until the driver's medical condition is known, ie. have a autopsy.
3
The video tell it all, the Bus sped through the intersection. I do not understand why a full size buss would be traveling 60 mph on a urban street.
5
I live near the site of the accident and pass that way often. I never cross Main St. at Northern Blvd. because of all the turning traffic at the "T" shaped intersection. The Dahlia bus likely crossed the Flushing Creek Bridge and probably passed through the Prince St. intersection prior to reaching the accident location. I noticed yesterday that there are heavy tire tracks on the white markings of the crosswalk. Could this mean that the brakes had been applied and that the bus was traveling even faster than the near 60 mph reported?
3
Have they determined what the charter bus driver's condition was when the accident happened? I haven't read anywhere that he was dui during this particular incident. Until the autopsy says he was dui, I'm going to withhold judgment. For all we know, he could have had a heart attack. I'm not saying all the other issues in this article aren't valid. Just feel sad that commenters are already assuming he was dui (which he could have been, but we don't know yet).
1
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin (FMCSA) has set up a system of points, the BASIC score, for drivers and companies. Included are automatic loss of license for specific violations.
3
A review of the company's BASIC score shows viloations for speeding, illegal passing and failure to obey traffic control signal.
1
I have believed for a long time that our treatment of drunk driving is too lenient, for bus drivers and for the rest of us. I seriously believe that jail should be mandatory for a second conviction, and for a first conviction if someone is injured - even a "scratch".
See how the rules have changed for charter buses 6 months from now. I expect nothing, not even token changes.
12
It is wrong for the Times and others to keep bringing up this person's past as if he should have never had a driver's license again. His lawyer is absolutely correct, and you should stop talking about his past as if it were the reason for the accident.
I don't think the Times inferred that he shouldn't have had a license. But past actions are often indicative of current practices and his history is of import in investigating this crash. People do revert to past activities. Our house was hit by a driver that was almost three times the legal limit. And he had several DUIs in the past. Certainly relevant.
4
A good start would be to crack down on all careless drivers, whether they drive buses, trucks, cabs or personal vehicles. All too often I read about a driver that hits or kills a pedestrian who had the right of way and the driver is charged with something like failure to yield in an intersection. Often these drivers have had multiple license suspensions and yet are still out there driving.
This is insane. I realize that sometimes these are truly unavoidable accidents, but when someone had a history of careless, drives or distracted driving, and ends up seriously injuring or killing someone, shouldn't that person get more than a slap on the wrist. People go to jail for far more minor things. Until we treat these dangerous drivers like the true menaces they are, fatal crashes will continue.
9
With the amount of buses and other commercial traffic and private autos and bikes in this city it is a miracle this type of accident doesn't happen every day.
Condolences to the families of those killed.
2
Talk about slipping through the cracks. Well actually, he may not have slipped through the crack but intentionally avoided an alcohol-related offense because of fleeing the scene, He avoided any direct testing until he probably slept it off, dissipated the alcohol and was later arrested but not proven to be DUI. I was a jury member in a case such as this, and besides the one biased juror, the defendant got off without any penalty, except the loss of his license for the year after he refused to take The medical testing.
4
Thoughts and prayers go out to those involved in this tragic accident.
This may not be the correct time to discuss the topic, but using the charter bus industry/market and this tragedy as an example, I'd like to see "free market" Republicans and Libertarians explain how deregulation benefits consumers. The "free market" theory suggests consumers avoid this bus company in reaction and can settle "disagreements" in court with that process somehow being efficient.
Now expand this economic discussion to larger markets. How does deregulating the Environmental Protection Agency benefit consumers? I can understand modifying or removing individual regulations if they are proven needlessly onerous but whole sale deregulation negatively impacts consumers while raising profits for corporations. Regulated capitalism is a level playing field for all agents in any market with protections for consumers and the greater environment. In the charter bus industry or other markets.
18
You're right, it's not the correct time.
And NYC is run by Democrats, in case you hadn't heard.
4
The EPA is not being "deregulated". Some of its longer reaches are being pulled back which in some cases might be good for "consumers". Example??? The last regulatory moves by the previous administration has resulted in many "consumers" not being able to utilize their lands and farms because of arbitrary definitions of what constitutes wetlands. These regulations, in some case, were promulgated without the proper and required notice and comment period.
NYC may be run by Democrats but they do not have control over the charter bus industry - that's under Federal purview. NYC can only decide where said buses can park/stop in the City and which roads they can drive on - not much else.
In viewing the taped images of that charter bus hurling itself through the intersection at 50mph, thus taking the lives of three innocent people, I was shocked but not surprised. We know that the regulations governing charter bus companies and the employees they hire. What sort of qualified driver can be hired when people can buy a ticket from NYC to Boston or DC for $10? Will we never learn that we get what we pay for in this life? As an aside, seeing the picture of Mayor "Do-nothing" DeBlasio at the crash site only serves to demonstrate his impotence in leading this city towards a "better tomorrow" for he has changed almost nothing of importance since taking office, including trying to suggest some improved oversight of this dangerous charter bus industry.
21
Just a friendly reminder that there are many of us out here who still believe that the axiom “you get what you pay for” is just flat wrong. Money moves around irrespective of character, competence, or quality. Millions of people do heroic work every single day for little or no pay, and there are untold numbers of highly compensated menaces operating with near impunity. I would love to see workers in tough spots get a bump in pay, but let’s not confuse proper compensation with effective oversight.