Just when you think that it’s much safer to take public transportation vehicles like buses than to drive your own vehicle. A study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that more than 500 of the unsafe tractor-trailer and bus companies who’ve been ordered to shut down are still operational.

These “reincarnated” common carrier companies were found to owe thousands of dollars in delinquent fines with violations ranging from operating without the proper license to failing to test drivers for illegal drugs and alcohol.

Greg Kutz, GAO’s managing director for special investigations in fact said that there were about 300 fatalities from bus crashes last year and that carriers ordered to shut down were made into new companies to evade fines and avoid corrective actions.

According to the investigative report, at least 20 of the roughly 220 commercial bus companies that had been fined and ordered out of service in 2007 and 2008 by federal regulators have found a new lease on their illicit life by going by a different name.

One of these bus lines in fact, is responsible for a fatal crash in 2008 where 17 people were killed when the bus blew a retreaded tire in Texas.

Several unsafe common carriers in current operation despite the order to shut down were found offenders in California, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, New York and Washington.

GAO also found that despite the efforts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s efforts to regulate errant companies, it did not have the full computer capability to identify fraudulent companies using different addresses and names.

In response to that, Congress is now looking into creating a federal standard that would give the FMCSA more power to revoke licenses and impose fines.

The government should be more rigid about regulating these common carrier companies – the mere fact that it is open for the use of the general public means that higher standards of care and diligence should be expected.

Bus accidents also yield greater and more catastrophic fatalities and injuries just by their size, the mere fact that car accidents are more likely to happen should not make agencies complacent about substandard buses.

Under the law, in case of bus accidents, as common carriers, it is not just the driver who may be held liable. Company owners as well, are vicariously liable for the damages incurred by passengers who availed of their services.