A number of trucking and bus companies have been ordered shut down for violating federal safety rules and staying in business under different names, the Associated Press reported, citing a government study.
The Government Accountability Office report follows a serious accident a year ago in which a bus skidded off a Texas highway, killing 17 people in one of the nation's deadliest bus crashes, AP reported.
GAO found that at least 20 of about 220 commercial bus companies that had been fined and ordered out of service in 2007 and 2008 evaded compliance by coming back in business under new names, a tactic used by the bus operator in the Texas crash, AP said.
More than 1,000 commercial trucking firms also were believed to back in business after repeated fines and violations, often using the same address, owner name, employees and contact numbers, AP said, citing the GAO.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is proposing a federal standard that would give the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration greater authority to revoke licenses and impose fines, AP said.
The measure — included in a proposed six-year, $500 billion highway reauthorization bill that the Obama administration wants delayed for 18 months because of cost questions — also would direct FMCSA to improve its computer systems, AP reported.
