By Mark Hallum
In response to the deadly bus accident in Flushing Sept. 18, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is calling on the federal Department of Transportation to implement a law already passed in 2012 to give charter bus companies a letter grade similar to New York City restaurants.
The devastating wreck occurred when a Dahlia charter bus slammed into an MTA Q20, killing three and injuring 16 others in the early morning. The driver of the private carrier, who died in the crash, had several violations and a DWI record, which had him booted from the MTA two years earlier.
“On the heels of the terrible Dahlia crash, and new information that shows there are other bad actors out on the streets, some worse than Dahlia, your gut reaction is to ask what more can be done to prevent these kinds of crashes and improve the culture of safety,” Schumer said. “But in this case, we have a law I passed in 2012 that cannot only help solve this problem, but can better inform the public, too. That is why I am asking the federal Department of Transportation to hit the gas on a federal letter-grade system for private bus companies.”
Raymond Mong, 49, was at the controls of a Dahlia Travel & Tours bus when he plowed into a city bus making a right turn from Main Street onto Northern Boulevard, which sent the MTA 20 bus spinning. Both vehicles ended up on the sidewalk, causing substantial damage to Kennedy’s Fried Chicken on the southeast corner of the intersection.
Dahlia Carrier Group has had seven traffic violations, according to a report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and at least one fatal accident prior to September 2015. Another wreck Dahlia was involved in took place in 2016, when a bus carrying people to a casino in Connecticut went off the road and hit a steel guardrail in the middle of a snowstorm. A total of 36 passengers were injured.
The state DMV claimed it was not informed by Dahlia of Mong’s employment with them.
“The companies that spend money to ensure a culture of safety will rise to the top, and the bad actors who disregard the value of safety and human life will fail to survive unless they improve,” Schumer continued. “We need a federal letter grade system for bus safety that mirrors the one we have for New York City restaurants because the public is in the dark on just who is violating the law and how dangerous their charter may be.”
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the Dahlia bus was traveling at about 58 mph in a 30 mph zone, when it struck the MTA bus.
Last week, the Independent Democratic Conference released a report revealing the most dangerous private bus companies in the state based on violations and history. Dahlia was the seventh worst in the top 10, with Sagbus Inc., another Flushing company, being No.1.
“When people board a bus, they do so assuming that their safety is a priority and that they will get to their destination safely,” Avella said. “Companies that fail to disclose safety information, especially that of a driver who has a history of unsafe driving, are purposely putting their customers, and everyone who they share the road with, in serious danger. Strengthening the penalties for this dereliction of duty is a good start to ensuring the safety of New Yorkers who put their lives in the hands of bus companies.”
The report indicated that 121 out of 249 bus companies in the state have federal violations against them.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
