HOW SAFE IS YOUR BUS?

It is a great pleasure to announce that DOT is putting a terrific commercial bus safety tool in the hands of the people who can use it best: passengers.

The SaferBus App delivers the latest bus safety information from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Safety Measurement System to your iPhone or iPad so before buying a bus ticket or while you're waiting to board, you can review the safety record of the bus line you're considering.

The app is free and very simple to use. Just type in the bus company's name or US DOT registration number, and a set of icons on your screen will indicate whether that company has crossed a safety threshold in any of five important categories. Drill down with one quick tap, and you can learn more about a company's safety record in each of our Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICS), including:

Unsafe Driving -- Operating in a dangerous or careless manner. Example violations: speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change, and inattention.
Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service) -- Operating by drivers who are ill, fatigued, or in non-compliance with the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations. Example violations: exceeding HOS, maintaining an incomplete or inaccurate logbook, and operating while ill or fatigued.
Driver Fitness -- Operating by drivers who are unfit to operate due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualifications. Example violations: failing to have a valid and appropriate commercial driver's license and being medically unqualified to operate.
Controlled Substances and Alcohol -- Operating by drivers who are impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription or over-the-counter medications. Example violations: use or possession of controlled substances or alcohol.
Vehicle Maintenance -- Failure to properly maintain a commercial motor vehicle. Example violations: brakes, lights, and other mechanical defects, and failure to make required repairs.

The information the app sends to your mobile device covers the past 24 months of activity, and results are updated monthly. The app also links to an informative set of Frequently Asked Questions to help you make the best possible use of the available information.

And SaferBus makes it easy to file a safety-related complaint about a bus company in a few simple clicks.

So, if you're getting ready to take a trip aboard one of America's many interstate commercial passenger carriers - including motor coach, school bus and tour bus companies - make sure to visit the App Store or FMCSA's Look Before You Book webpage and pack this essential safety tool. And if you know someone who travels by bus, please share this link.

We are fortunate to live in a time when app developers and government agencies are working together to make more and more information available to individual citizens. And it's no surprise that, at DOT, our first foray into the app world focuses on our number one priority: safety.

Congratulations to the team at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and DOT's Volpe Center for helping America's bus travelers make better-informed decisions with the new SaferBus App.