With gas prices at an all time high and spring break season in full swing, bus trips provide a relatively quick and inexpensive alternative to a road trip for money-savvy collegiettes. Some bus companies even offer deals as low as one-way $1 fares between major cities. Deals like that seem too good to be true, and they often are.
It is very easy to be blinded by price and forget about the importance of safety in any form of transportation. In fact, most of us probably wouldn’t have the first idea of where to look for bus company safety information.
That’s why the new SaferBus App that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is coming out with this week is a great move in the right direction. The new App is FREE, up-to-date and really easy to use.
All you have to do is type in the bus company’s name or US DOT registration number, and a set of icons on your screen will indicate whether the company has crossed a safety threshold in any of five important categories:
- Unsafe Driving —Examples: speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change, and inattention.
- Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service) —Examples: exceeding Hours of Service, maintaining an incomplete or inaccurate logbook, and operating while ill or fatigued.
- Driver Fitness —Examples: failing to have a valid and appropriate commercial driver’s license and being medically unqualified to operate.
- Controlled Substances and Alcohol —Examples: use or possession of controlled substances or alcohol.
- Vehicle Maintenance Examples: brakes, lights, or other mechanical defects, and failure to make required repairs.
The app provides the most up-to-date information and also has a section for logging complaints.
So as you’re packing for your next bus excursion, be sure to take a quick trip to the the App Store and pack the new app.
For more information you can visit the FMCSA “Look Before You Book” page.