It seems that there is another with fatal accident involving heavy commercial vehicles in Ohio every week. However, the recent bus accidents and truck accidents around the country have been unusually severe, often involving multiple injury victims and fatalities.

Just yesterday, a tour bus carrying about 50 people collided with a tractor-trailer, causing both vehicles to be engulfed in flames. Of the people on the bus, 46 were taken to the hospital and 30 people sustained injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was killed at the scene of the accident.

With all of these major accidents happening around the country, it seems fair to ask: Are bus and truck companies taking safety seriously enough?

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the answer is a resounding 'no' for quite a few bus and truck companies. The FMSCA is the part of the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks. The FMSCA has reported a sharp increase in the amount of imminent hazard orders it has issued, which take bus and truck companies out of service when they appear to be an immediate risk to people on the nation's roads.

Between 2000 and 2009, 14 truck and bus companies received imminent hazard orders from the FMSCA. That is not a small number. However, in 2010 and 2011 through July, the agency has already issued another 14 imminent hazard orders. In the first seven months of 2011 alone, the agency issued eight of the orders because of serious safety violations. For example, a bus company was pulled off the road last month for carrying passengers in luggage compartments.

Truck and bus companies need to take safety seriously. When they do not, people get hurt and killed on the roads. If you or a member of your family has been hurt because of a commercial vehicle company's carelessness, an experienced personal injury attorney can help protect your legal rights.

Sources: Consumer Affairs, "Feds Force Unsafe Buses, Trucks Off the Road," Truman Lewis, 20 July 2011

Reuters, "Tour bus crash in upstate New York kills one, injures dozens," 22 July 2011, Aman Ali