Bus driver overtime abuse causing driver fatigue – chief cause of fatal accidents
Washington, DC – It’s time for Congress to extend overtime protections for intercity bus drivers to combat driver fatigue – the number one cause of fatal bus accidents says the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) in applauding President Obama’s proposal to expand overtime pay for millions of workers.
Obama’s decision to use his executive authority to change the nation’s overtime rules will allow hard working people to be fairly compensated for the overtime hours they work under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which covers 85% of American workers.
However companies in the safety-sensitive intercity bus industry are exempt from FLSA, which invites these operators to overwork their low wage drivers. Many are forced to work second jobs during their “rest period” just to make ends meet, which leads to fatigued drivers behind the wheel.
“The consequences of overworked and overtired fast food managers is far less than the consequences of overworking professional bus drivers who are responsible for the safety of human lives,” says ATU International President Hanley. “We applaud President Obama’s proposal to extend overtime pay for millions. All workers deserve to be fairly compensated for overtime, but in a safety sensitive industry where drivers are operating a 50,000 lbs. vehicle traveling at 65 miles per hour it’s a matter of life and death.”
According to Sudden Death Overtime (need new link) the NTSB’s own data found 36 percent of U.S. motorcoach crash fatalities over the past decade have been caused by driver fatigue. It is the number one cause – far above road conditions (2 percent) or inattention (6 percent).
The tragic acceleration in the number of fatal motorcoach accidents in the last couple of years can be attributed to outcome of deregulation of the industry in the 1980s, which lead to an explosive growth of small, “fly-by-night” interstate bus operators. Hundreds of intercity bus companies get away with paying their bus drivers criminally low wages, forcing drivers to work 100 hours a week or more.
Over the last decade, three times as many people have been killed in intercity bus accidents than in commercial airline crashes.
ATU has called for passage of the Driver Fatigue Prevention Act. Sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, this bill would ensure that drivers are paid fairly for the overtime work that they put in above 40 hours per week.
“We call on the President and Congress to extend overtime protections for intercity bus drivers,” says Hanley. “Until we do we will continue to see carnage on our highways."