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The Today File

Your guide to the latest news from around the Northwest

January 11, 2013 at 4:05 PM

Canada suspends operations of tour company in fatal Oregon bus crash

Canadian transportation officials ordered the operator of a bus that crashed in Oregon last week, killing nine and injuring 39, to immediately cease operations in their own country Friday.

The suspension of Coquitlam, B.C.-based Mi Joo Tour & Travel’s bus-tour business in Canada comes three days after the U.S. Department of Transportation issued the company an “imminent hazard” out-of-service order.

Transportation officials for both countries found that the company was not recording driver hours as required. The driver of the Mi Joo tour bus that skidded off an icy Interstate 84 and down a 200-foot embankment Dec. 30 had worked 92 hours in seven days at the time of the crash. He still had at least another seven hours ahead of him as drove toward Vancouver, B.C.

In Canada and the United States, bus drivers are limited to 70 hours of on-duty time per seven days.

Canada’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure conducted its own safety audit of the company after the accident, but worked closely with USDOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Since the company registered as a Canadian business in 2007, it’s had no major accidents and has maintained a “satisfactory road safety rating for the last three years,” according to the ministry.

The company will not be able to operate again in the United States or Canada unless it submits a plan to follow regulations for both countries more stringently.

Comments | More in The Blotter, Traffic & Transit | Topics: Canada, Mi Joo Tour & Travel, Oregon bus crash

About The Today File

The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and edited by Assistant Metro Editor Nick Provenza.

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