Bush's Fault!
In addition to finding that there really were explosions involved, it seems we're learning that restrictions were waived on registrations, etc., because of the emergency situation. Evidently, the bus was likely sitting unused in need of registration/inspection, but was pressed into service. As for the Mexican driver's license, the company reportedly had a bad history of driver problems. See: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/05/rita/3367695
Company that owned ill-fated charter bus had driver violationsOr we can just scream "It must be the Muzzies!" and feel good about ourselves. </sarc>
The bus chartered by a Bellaire nursing home to evacuate residents from Hurricane Rita's path had lapsed registration but likely was pressed into service because of the emergency, according to state records and officials.
Also, the company that owned the bus had a serious history of driver violations. In the last 2 1/2 years, the carrier, Global Limo Inc. of Pharr, had five drivers put "out of service" during random inspections in Texas, New Mexico and Missouri, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. [...]
A representative at Global Limo in Pharr said the bus was in "good condition" prior to the incident. He declined to provide his name during a face-to-face interview at the company’s office, though he identified himself as Juan to someone who called in over the phone.The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, which maintains corporation records in the state, reports on its Web site that Global Limo is "not in good standing as it has not satisfied all state tax requirements."
The state comptroller records identified James H. Maples as the company’s owner. Juan said Maples was in the Dallas area when the incident occurred and met with authorities following the accident.
"The bus was leased," Juan said. "It’s leased from a company out of Maryland."
Global Limo itself has six buses and 10 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency that regulates buses. As of Friday, the company held a "satisfactory" carrier safety rating.
However, on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being best and 100 being worst, Global Limo rates 96.96, or "deficient," on its driver safety evaluation.
Federal safety performance data indicate there was an "inspection warranted" for Global Limo as of Aug. 26, but it is unclear whether that inspection was performed
I've been thinking about this now for a bit.
I saw somewhere online that perhaps a piece of metal somehow got stuck in the rear duals, locked up the brakes, and that caused the original fire. I can try and find that write-up.
Then I thought, brakes and tires smell. New brakes smell and you can see the rear wheel wells from the outside mirrors, and one would notice if there is smoke in that area. iirc, most bus fires start at the tires or in the engine.
But if they've had issues with drivers following safety regs, maybe he wasn't paying attention to his mirrors. I also wonder what condition the other tires were in, if the vehicle hadn't been inspected recently, and the brakes.
So, I guess I'm still thinking.
this is a story i found online today, about brakes possibly starting a fire. it looks like a regular transit bus from the pic, so one set of rear duals.
http://technicianonline.com/story.php?id=012257
it will be awhile until we know exactly what happened to the houston bus, if ever, considering the amount of damage.
prayers for all those folks and their families.