Winn Bus Lines is one of the safest motorcoach carriers in the United States. Our safety record remains in THE TOP ONE HALF OF ONE PERCENT of all transportation companies NATIONWIDE!

- WE'VE HEARD YOU -

We've received several very concerned telephone calls from many of you who saw a piece on the news about another local bus company who is training their drivers to handle possible recapped tire explosions. This was a public relations effort on their part following a fatal accident in Texas that was poorly thought out and obviously sent the wrong message.

Please understand that any bus with recapped tires on front wheels is ILLEGAL. This does not mean that some companies don't still do it. Unfortunately, many of you don't know a recap from a new tire and many carriers operate with recapped tires to save money, but it is an accident waiting to happen.

We DO NOT and HAVE NEVER run recapped tires! Training for anticipated accidents caused by inferior equipment is no way to protect passenger safety and there is simply no way to train anyone for something so catastrophic.

We don't have to spend time training our drivers how to handle faulty equipment . When you travel with us you can rest assured that the rubber meeting the road is of solid construction and has never been remanufactured...WE GUARANTEE IT!

Click HERE for a copy of our insurance certificate

Not all motorcoach companies are equally safe.

    While there are stringent safety regulations in place at the federal level (the "Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations," or FMCSR's; the complete set of regulations can be found online at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) website, http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov and similar laws at virtually every state level, they represent the minimum safety requirements for a commercial motor carrier of passengers to remain in business. Some carriers, inevitably, will operate outside the rules. Student travel planners need a way to distinguish between safe and unsafe operators. We maintain the safest record in Virginia and one of the safest in the entire country.

Price must not be your reason for selecting an operator.

    While the price of the trip is important, picking the cheapest price is no way to select a carrier. Price does relate to safety in many critical ways that a motorcoach consumer needs to understand. High prices don't automatically infer a safe carrier, nor do low prices automatically signal an unsafe carrier, but good safety practices are expensive. If competitive pricing is important, student trip planners need to understand why prices differ.

Research

    Research, well in advance of travel, is important. If you can't find good information about a carrier, simple research is the answer. With the phenomenal growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web, the information you need is often just a few clicks away. The information in this section will provide background for many of the issues you should ask about when you individually review a carrier for service.

Ask the bus company for its USDOT identification number.

    The number is your best tool to begin your safety review of the motor carrier. All commercial bus and motorcoach companies operating across state lines must be granted "interstate authority" by the FMCSA. That authority requires a minimum insurance coverage, continued operation within federal and state safety rules and subjects the company and its vehicles and drivers to safety review and inspection by federal and state authorities at any time.

Review the bus company's record online.

    The USDOT number serves as your key to online research of the carrier's safety record. Go the USDOT's motor carrier safety website at http://www.safersys.org , which can provide you with a snapshot of the carrier's safety record. The site will tell you:
    • If the carrier is authorized to transport passengers for hire;
    • If the carrier has current insurance in force;
    • The carrier's record of regulatory violations or "out-of-service" incidents; those times when a vehicle or a driver is found to be in violation of the rules, and a comparison to national averages;
    • The carrier's highway accident record;
    • The carrier's current USDOT "safety rating," if any, and the date of the carrier's last "compliance review," or onsite inspection by authorities.
    • You should never hire a carrier with an "unsatisfactory" or "conditional" safety rating.

You can review our record by clicking HERE.

 


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