Bus in N. J. crash not OK’D for U.S.

TORONTO A motorcoach from Toronto that crashed on a New Jersey exit ramp this weekend was not authorized to operate in the U.S., American transportation investigators said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation — said it had revoked a permit for AVM Max 2000 Charter Services Inc. in July after a lapse in the Canadian company’s insurance.

“Safety is our No. 1 priority. While (the company) has a satisfactory safety rating, it does not have the authority to operate in the U.S. due to an unresolved lapse in its insurance coverage,” the agency said in a statement Monday.

“This compliance violation is one of the factors we will evaluate as part of our post-crash investigation of the carrier and driver,” it said.

Online records with the U.S. agency also show that the Canadian company had been cited for five fatigued driving violations since April 2011.

In one instance last May, the company was reprimanded for permitting a driver to work more than 11 hours per day.

Phone calls to the bus company went unreturned Monday.

On Saturday, a bus from the company carrying 57 passengers, veered off an exit ramp in Wayne, N.J., about 25 kilometres northwest of New York City.

BILL KOSTROUN/The Associated Press A chartered tour bus from Toronto carrying about 60 people overturned on an interstate exit ramp in New Jersey on Saturday. U.S. transportation officials say the U.S. permit for AVM Max 200 Charter Services had been revoked.