Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In the wake of Friday's deadly tour bus crash on the New York State Thruway near the Town of Pembroke, bus travel companies are taking steps to ensure passengers are safe.
AAA's Melissa Petersen says it abides by state law that just went into effect in April that requires all charter bus passengers eight years of age or older to wear their seatbelt at all times that the motor coach is in operation.
"We outline that law in all of our terms and conditions for our group travel trips," said Petersen in an interview with WBEN. "We have a tour host that's on board all of our tours, so the tour host will reiterate that that rule before we depart. And then throughout the journey, we'll also make reminders to the travelers that they must have their seatbelts on while the bus is in motion."
What if passengers need to use the restroom on board? She says restrooms are allowed to be used, but passengers are encouraged to use them quickly so there's as little time as possible not buckled in.
Related
AAA anticipated resistance to seat belt use rules, but that hasn't happened.
"Travelers have been very receptive and very accommodating, and all have abided by by the rule. They've all been quite gracious to our tour hosts, and it's gone quite well," Petersen noted.
When it comes to keeping drivers from being distracted, Petersen says drivers have very specific timelines of how long they can actually be behind the wheel, how long they can be on duty, and also how long the motor coach can be used for in a day.
"They're quite particular about that," Petersen said. "And we make sure to when we're creating our itineraries that we don't stress the drivers, as far as being tired or too long on the road, and our tour hosts communicate with the drivers. We try to do so mostly when they're not driving, to talk about routing and itinerary so that we can minimize distractions that way as well."
A preliminary investigation into Friday's fatal tour bus crash says the driver was distracted, but the official cause has not been revealed.