The U.S. Department of Transportation has ordered a Canadian bus company to cease operations in the United States after a deadly crash in Oregon in late December. Investigators blame driver fatigue. But not everyone in the Northwest Korean community is glad for the tour company’s shuttering.
The bus accident killed nine people on a treacherous bit of Interstate 84, near Pendleton. Now, the federal government found in an investigation that “Mi Joo Tour & Travel failed to take basic measures to ensure that its drivers are properly rested for safe vehicle operations …”
In fact, the transportation officials say the company has a pattern of disregarding driving-time limits. But Edward Kimmi, the president of the Korean Society of Oregon, isn’t pleased with the action. “As long as they could improve and meet the standards, then they should be allowed to operate.”
The federal government previously cited and fined Mi Joo Tour & Travel for not meeting U.S. drug and alcohol testing requirements both in 2011 and 2010.
Copyright 2012 Northwest Public Radio
