The Critical Factor In a Blowout

" Greyhound Bus Driver's Forum "

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Wyatt Olsen's Drive Safe Campaign

                                    

    TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

The most important part of a moving truck or bus is the driver! Get plenty of rest before getting behind the wheel. Eat well and stay fit. Remember, hours of service violations are serious and can threaten your livelihood or even your life. Stay healthy and well rested, or don't drive !

ALWAYS MAINTAIN YOUR VEHICLE

Inspect your vehicle before each trip and check your brakes regularly. Learn how to inspect your brakes, identify safety defects, and get them repaired before risking your life and others on the highway.

                           Published by Wyatt Olsen

Motor Coach Industries Operation

 

 

SCHAUMBURG, IL — July 1, 2013 — As MCI continues to excel at Reliability Driven maintenance and repair services, the company has named two new highly-talented service managers at its suburban Los Angeles and Chicago locations.

 

Thomas Hoskins

Thomas Hoskins has been promoted to Service Manager for the Los Alamitos, California, MCI Service Center. Hoskins started his career with MCI as a technician 10 years ago and has since held positions of increasing responsibility as Lead Technician, and most recently, as Shop Supervisor.

Mark Heldt

At the same time, Mark Heldt has joined the company as Service Manager for the Des Plaines, Illinois, MCI Service Center. Heldt was with Ryder System, Inc., for 32 years, holding positions as Technician, Parts Manager, Service Manager, District Maintenance Manager and Senior Maintenance Manager. He brings with him extensive experience in service operations management with an emphasis on customer satisfaction and safety. Most recently, Heldt was with First Student Bus Company as a Region Maintenance Manager responsible for 38 locations over a three-state area.

"Both Tom and Mark have a superb track record for customer service, strong technical expertise and the ability to manage the quick turnaround times for maintenance and repair required by motor coach operators." said Patrick McGuire, Director of MCI Service Centers. "In the past year, we've made great progress in building MCI Service Centers' reputation for reliable repair with factory trained technicians on MCI and Setra models. The rollout of ReliaDrive, our fix-it-right guarantee, also demonstrates our commitment to keeping customer coaches on the road earning revenue."

All together, MCI operates seven service centers in or near Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia and Montreal, offering complete mechanical repair services, including chassis, suspension, brakes, air conditioning and steering; coach modifications; paint and body repair; wheelchair lift installations; insurance estimating and appraisal services; and immediate access to replacement parts on-site and 24-hour delivery of parts from inventory at MCI's Louisville, Kentucky, distribution facility. MCI service centers are also approved for Detroit Diesel, Allison Transmission, ZF ASTronic Transmission and HVAC systems warranty service.



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"BE AWARE YOUR "NO-ZONE"

                                                                                     

BE AWARE OF YOUR "NO-ZONE"

Other drivers may not be aware of the size of your buses blind spots. Be vigilant in watching out for vehicles in the No-Zone. The No-Zone represents the danger areas, or blind spots, around trucks and buses where crashes are more likely to occur. One-third of all crashes between large buses/trucks and cars take place in the No-Zone.


                                           

SLOW DOWN IN WORK ZONES
Watch out for highway construction. Stay alert. Work zone crashes are more likely to happen during the day. Almost one-third of fatal crashes in work zones involved large trucks. Take your time going through work zones and give yourself plenty of room. Expect the unexpected!


 Published by Wyatt Olsen


                                              

" Why Motorcoaches May Burn "

FIRE INVESTIGATIONS

WHY MOTORCOACHES

MAY BURN

(A MECHANICAL ANALYSIS)

Christopher W. Ferrone

President, Americoach Systems, Inc.

Chicago, IL

Cell: 773.858.4941 • Tel: 800.621.4153 • Email: cwferrone@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

In the wake of the Wilmer, Texas fire, which occurred during

the Hurricane Rita evacuation, motorcoach fires have come

to the forefront of the media. Are motorcoaches catching on

fire now more than before? What could possibly explain such

a phenomenon?

The purpose of this paper, through mechanical analysis

and accident reconstruction, is to inform operators of the fire

hazards which may be present on a typical motorcoach, tran-

sit or school bus.

Once the potential hazards are identified, the individual

components’ care and maintenance can be monitored to pre-

vent or limit the occurrence of a fire. The express purpose of

this effort is to minimize fires on such passenger vehicles.

INTRODUCTION

Motorcoaches are expensive and carry valuable cargo – peo-

ple. Motorcoaches must be understood and maintained with

fire prevention in mind.

A fire can occur on a motorcoach, transit or school bus for

a variety of reasons. Unlike an automobile or even a large

truck, a motorcoach is a more sophisticated vehicle with

more systems and even greater complexity.

1

The author has

investigated motorcoach fires for more than 20 years.

However, as a result of the fire in Wilmer Texas, it was decid-

ed that this analytical process should be written to assist

operators in the prevention of future fires.

During the past two decades the author has investigated

numerous motorcoach fires. While analyzing the cause and

origin of these fires a collection of data has shown a consis-

tent pattern.

As simple as it appears, if the vehicle is in motion certain

items are valid as possible causes. Likewise, if the vehicle is

stationary with the engine on or off other items become

potential causes. In either case, the situation is dangerous and

costly in both human life and property (Photo 1).

The more common causes discussed here are

not

ranked

in order of likelihood. The operational profile and vehicle

history can help determine which of these trouble spots need

SPECIAL REPORT TO CVSA

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Historic MC 6 "The Supercruiser"

           

               A Little History On The Supercruiser  

The MC-6 also known as the Supercruiser was intended to pioneer the new width of 102 inches with a  GM Detroit Diesel 12V71 in the 1960's. Unfortunately the appropriate legislation proved to be elusive and the MC-6 ended up being ahead of its time. It did not enter regular production until 1969 and only 100 were ever built, all for Greyhound. Because of their width, Greyhound was forced to limit the assignment of MC-6 coaches to special routes where permits or other regulations allowed the coaches to operate.

The 102 inch width later became legal years after the MC-6 coaches had left the Greyhound fleet. The MC-6 was built 40 feet long 102" wide and all stainless construction.

" Big Bird "

As far as I can gather, this bus was purchased in the 80's as a entertainer bus already with bedroom galley bathroom and the front with 2 and 1 seating.

 This bus was purchased in the early 80's by William Alfred Cook.. founder of Cook group and Star of Indiana drum and bugle corps. This was one of his first buses, and was used to transport band members to many of the football games. William did a lot of the driving in the 80's. The group back then named the bus

 "BIG BIRD"  and had a big yellow Big Bird decal on the side window by the door. In the early 90's the bus went through a major rebuild. It never got used much after that, because star was having some financial problems and this was a non proffit organization.

The bus mostly sat with only about 13,000 miles put on since the overhaul. Then John Chandler purchased the bus in 2001 and used the bus to move from Alaska to Idaho. The next year he decided he wanted to full time in the bus. So in 2002 the bus got tore down to be modified for full timing. The bus never got done enough to use untill 2009. Then the bus was drove back to Alaska so John could buy a piece of land he could come to in the summers. I visited with them for a while, then they returned to Idaho. After that he passed and the bus never got winterized, so it froze and busted all the plumbing.

I got the bus in June 2010 and flew down to Idaho, then drove it back to Alaska... This drove like a DREAM and no problems. After I got the bus back to Alaska, I started to tear it back down to repair all the plumbing. I re plumbed the bus with all pex and installed all new plumbing fixtures. Then we re tiled the shower and the floors and installed all new carpet. We have used the bus all over Alaska in the latter part of the summer. It has been VERY RELIABLE and now has 36,000 on the clock. Next project is to polish the stainless like chrome.



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