MED EXAMS URGED FOR BUS DRIVERS

WASHINGTON (AP) - An investigation into a bus crash on Mother's Day
1999, which killed 22 people in New Orleans, found the federal
government does little to make sure that bus drivers are in good
health and drug-free.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday blamed the crash
on the driver's poor health and the failure of the doctors who
examined him to try to take him off the road.

The board recommended tighter standards for medical exams that bus
and truck drivers must pass every two years and for procedures to
allow a prospective employer to find out whether an applicant has a
drug problem.

The NTSB also renewed its suggestion for bus-design standards that
would protect occupants more effectively in crashes. Improving bus
safety has one of the highest priorities among the board's
recommended improvements.

The recommendations are part of the NTSB's final report on the May
1999 crash of a chartered bus that ran off an interstate highway in
New Orleans and crashed through a guardrail and down an embankment.
The crash killed 22 members of a seniors gambling club heading to a
Gulf Coast casino.

The driver, Frank Bedell, died the following August of a heart
attack. He had been medically cleared to drive despite suffering from
heart disease and kidney failure. He tested positive for marijuana
after the crash, and had twice been fired from other bus companies
for the same reason. His last employer did not know he had failed
earlier drug tests.

Ken Suydam, chief investigator of the crash, said the bus driver's
medical history should have disqualified him from getting his
commercial driver's license.

A police report blamed the crash on Bedell's use of marijuana. His
health problems were discussed but not listed as factors.

During NTSB hearings on the crash, then-board Chairman Jim Hall said
the medical exams were easy to pass and were administered with little
government oversight. Transportation experts told the board that
drivers shop around for doctors who are willing to certify even those
with serious health problems.