纽约州的未决立法将要求对所有公交车司机进行犯罪背景调查。在此之前，最近发布的国家运输安全委员会报告建议对公交车司机进行更全面的检查。该法案由纽约州参议院交通委员会主席 Charles Fuschillo Jr. 赞助，已获得参议院批准，等待州议会通过。
美国国家运输安全委员会的报告检查了 2011 年发生的布朗克斯巴士事故，该事故造成 15 人死亡。经查明，该司机有多项罪名，包括过失杀人和无证驾驶。司机没有在车祸中丧生，在发现他在申请表上作虚假陈述后，他的驾照被吊销。由于潜在司机有时只需要自我披露以前的定罪或驾驶违规行为，因此需要加强背景调查条件是报告的建议之一。“NTSB 的报告只是对我们为什么需要更强有力的法律来保护巴士乘客的最新提醒。在采取行动之前等待另一场悲剧是一种倒退的做法，”Fuschillo 说。“我们应该采取行动防止另一场悲剧发生。批准这项常识性措施以挽救生命、提高安全性并防止不合格、不合格的公交车司机驾驶汽车的时机已经过去了。
通过要求所有公交车司机接受背景调查，希望还能防止使用化名或假名来隐藏过去的罪行，从而使他们失去驾驶执照的资格。继去年在布朗克斯巴士撞车事故后调查商业巴士司机的执照和监管情况后，纽约州监察长建议对所有巴士司机进行犯罪背景调查。布朗克斯的车祸还导致路边检查增加，至少有 530 名司机和 460 辆汽车被从道路上移走。最近，由于广泛的安全违规行为，美国交通部关闭了几家总部位于纽约的巴士公司。
Pending legislation in New York State would require criminal background checks for all bus drivers. This follows a recently released National Transportation Safety Board report recommending more comprehensive checks of bus drivers. Sponsored by New York State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Fuschillo Jr., the bill has already been approved by the Senate, and awaits passage by the state Assembly.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s report inspected a Bronx bus crash from 2011 that killed 15 people. It was found that the driver had several prior convictions, including manslaughter and driving without a license. The driver was not killed in the crash, and his license was suspended after it was discovered he made false statements on his application form. Since potential drivers are sometimes only required to self-disclose previous convictions or driving violations, stronger background check conditions were among the report’s recommendations. “The NTSB’s report is just the latest reminder about why we need stronger laws to protect bus passengers. Waiting for another tragedy before acting is a backwards approach,” Fuschillo said. “We should act to prevent another tragedy. It’s long past time to approve this commonsense measure to save lives, improve safety and prevent unfit, unqualified bus drivers from getting behind the wheel.
By requiring all bus drivers to undergo background checks, the hope is it would also prevent the use of aliases or false names that would hide past crimes that disqualify them from holding a driver’s license. Following an additional report performed last year investigating the licensing and oversight of commercial bus drivers after the Bronx bus crash, the New York State Inspector General recommended criminal background checks for all bus drivers. The Bronx crash also led to increased roadside inspections, with at least 530 drivers and 460 vehicles being removed from the road. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation shut down several New York-based bus companies due to extensive safety violations.
