Last week, we posted about a tragic tour bus crash in Oregon on December 30 that killed nine and injured 39. After investigating, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) concluded that the driver of the bus was driving too fast for the icy conditions at the time of the crash.
Yesterday, the DOT issued an order banning the man from driving commercial vehicles in the United States.
Several people who survived when the Canadian Mi Joo Tour & Travel bus skidded off an icy Interstate 84 and down a 200-foot embankment said driver had been asked several times to slow down.
“You were driving at speeds too fast for conditions and driving in a manner unsafe to existing road conditions,” the order addressed to the driver says. “You exhibited a careless or reckless disregard for the safety of yourself, your passengers and the general public.” The order also cited the fact that the driver had worked 92 hours in the week preceding the crash, violating the 70-hour-per-week maximum allowed in the United States.
The driver of a second Mi Joo bus on that same tour was also ordered not to drive commercial vehicles in the United States. He also worked too many hours the week of the bus crash and was driving too fast, the order said.
The DOT order says both drivers may be subject to civil and criminal penalties for violating federal regulations, but a department spokesman would not say whether there are plans to file charges against the drivers.