Another 13 Tickets Issued at Bus Safety Checkpoint

Continuing their efforts to take unsafe busses off the road in light of recent deadly crashes, police handed out 13 tickets during a bus safety checkpoint in Melville Saturday.

The Suffolk County Police Motor Carrier Safety Section, assisted by the New York State Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Inspectors, held the checkpoint at the New York State Park and Ride near exit 49 on the Long Island Expressway.

Officers inspected 18 busses and limousines during the checkpoint. Two drivers were removed from the road and four vehicles were placed out of service for mechanical defects, police said. 

Last week, police at a checkpoint at the same location.

Regular roadside bus inspections are conducted throughout the year, but have been intensified in the wake of the recent crashes to ensure that buses and drivers are in compliance with regulations, according to a release from the NYSDOT.

On March 12, a bus traveling from Connecticut carrying 32 passengers crashed on the Westchester County/Bronx border, killing 15 passengers. Days later, on March 14, another bus traveling from New York City en route to Philadelphia crashed in New Jersey, killing the driver and a passenger.