July 2, 2019
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INDEPENDENCE DAY 2019
Celebrating freedom
and liberty
As we approach Independence Day this Thursday, we wish all UMA members, whether you're at home or out on the road, a safe and happy holiday as our nation celebrates 243 years of independence and freedom. In observance of this holiday, our offices will be closed Thursday, July 4 and Friday, July 5. We will reopen Monday, July 8.
Aerial view of a massive highway intersection in Los Angeles
Being late won't kill you. Speeding might. Operation Safe Driver Week is an opportune time to remind your team of your company's safety priorities.

Fleet Owner | by Joseph Evangelist | June 25, 2019

Operation Safe Driver Week  is scheduled for July 14-20. During this week, law enforcement personnel are out on the roads looking for unsafe driving practices by drivers of both commercial vehicles and passenger cars. This year there will be a special focus on speeding , which has been identified as a contributing factor in 94% of all traffic crashes.

Drivers who are caught speeding are subject to citations as are those drivers who are engaging in other dangerous behavior such as distracted driving (texting or on a hand-held cell phone), improper lane change, following too closely, aggressive driving, failure to wear seatbelts, failure to obey traffic signals and, of course, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

While fleets should always be focused on safe driving, now might be a good time to do some reinforcing of the safe driving practices you expect drivers to adhere to. Perhaps schedule a special drivers’ meeting to restate/reinforce your corporate policy on safe driving, or post something on your corporate intranet to remind drivers about the event and to reiterate your fleet’s commitment to drivers obeying posted speed limits.

Safety Management Seminar: A unique opportunity to educate your safety and compliance team
UMA's Risk Management Committee has been working to craft the priorities for the upcoming UMA Safety Management Seminar which takes place December 4-5, 2019. The annual Seminar sells out each year, with space available only for the first 150 registrants eager to learn what's on the minds of federal regulators and which compliance and safety issues will affect their businesses.

​ The Safety Management Seminar features "how-to" applications of risk management to show you how to eliminate as much risk as possible. This must-attend event is for anyone who manages safety and compliance for motorcoach fleet operations. Sessions will focus on the industry's most pressing needs and provide take-away information that attendees can put into practice ASAP. The seminar also includes updates and forecasts from:
  • The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
  • Transportation Safety Administration (TSA)
  • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  • National Transportation Safety Board
Nashville Trivia: The story of Music City
The site of UMA's upcoming Motorcoach EXPO is a hot tourist destination, but how much do you know about why it's such a draw?

From its very beginnings, Nashville grew from a foundation built on music. Music has been the common thread connecting the life and soul of the city and its people. And visitors have ventured here to experience the music that weaves such a fundamental pattern in its cultural, business and social fabric.

THE BEGINNING
Nashville’s earliest settlers celebrated in the late 1700s with fiddle tunes and buck dancing after safely disembarking on the shores of the Cumberland River. Nashville’s first “celebrity,” the noted frontiersman and Congressman Davy Crockett was known far and wide for his colorful stories and fiddle playing.

THE NAME OF MUSIC CITY
As the 1800s unfolded, Nashville grew to become a national center for music publishing. The first around-the-world tour by a musical act was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers from Nashville’s Fisk University. Their efforts helped fund the school’s mission of educating freed slaves after the Civil War – and also put Nashville on the map as a global music center. In fact, upon playing for the Queen of England, the queen stated the Fisk Jubilee Singers must come from the “Music City.”
July 31 is FMCSA's new target date for unveiling HOS proposed rule change
Transportation Topics | by Eleanor Lamb | July 1, 2019

Those anticipating the Department of Transportation’s proposal on hours-of-service policy changes will have to wait a little longer.

DOT’s most recent Significant Rulemaking Report has been updated to reflect July 31 as the projected publication date for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding HOS changes. A public comment period on the proposal is slated to end Sept. 16.

Initially, June 7 was listed as the “originally scheduled date” for publication, although the document was later amended to reflect just the month of June (rather than a specific date). Actual publication depends on the Office of Management and Budget’s review process, which could stretch on.

DOT submitted the NPRM to the White House for review March 29 after Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials spent months combing through thousands of comments and gathering input on potential rule changes.

NORFOLK, Va. — Kisha Marrow-Lott’s husband, Jawoski Lott, is suing after his wife died falling out of a party bus near Waterside Drive. 

He filed a lawsuit for $25 million.

State police say the bus was entering an Interstate 264 in Norfolk when Marrow-Lott fell from the bus. She died at the scene.

The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office told 13News Now they are not filing criminal charges. In a letter, Chief Deputy Brent Johnson called the incident a tragic accident and said it was not a criminal act on the driver or anyone else on the bus.

Olli manufacturer seeks partners in Atlanta, Pacific Northwest
Remember last month when members of the UMA Board took a demo ride aboard an autonomous shuttle, Olli? Well, Local Motors, the maker of Olli, is looking to partner with future-forward cities, communities and mobility placemakers to co-create transportation solutions in the Pacific Northwest and in Metro Atlanta. Get details on Atlanta or the Pacific Northwest projects on the Local Motors website .
Advertisement: New opportunities in Bus & Motorcoach News
PEOPLE
PBA names Patricia Cowley new executive director
Patricia Cowley is the new executive director of the Pennsylvania Bus Association. Her appointment was announced last week by John W. Bailey, Chairman of the PBA.

The PBA was founded in 1923 and represents motorcoach operators, associate members and travel supplier members.

Cowley also serves as the executive director for the Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association and has a strong background in association management and the motorcoach industry, with experience in developing programs to assist operators with purchasing, safety, training and hiring.

Cowley said her "initial primary goals are to increase awareness of the value of the association to operators and to enhance the existing programs and processes for the benefit of the members."

For more information about the Pennsylvania Bus Association, visit their website, www.pabus.org.
OBITUARY
Robert 'Robbie' Quick of Quick's Bus Company mourned by family, friends, motorcoach industry
Robert Leslie “Robbie” Quick, 71 of Daleville, Virginia passed away Tuesday, June 25, 2019. He served as president of Quick's Bus Company, a family business, following the retirement of his father.

Born in Staunton on May 7, 1948, Robbie was the son of the late Robert Lee “Bob” and Ada Frances (Guffey) Quick. Robbie's father was a founding board member of the United Motorcoach Association.

Robbie was a veteran of the United States Army and retired with twenty-two years of service. Following his father’s retirement, he became President of Quick’s Bus Company and was with the company for twenty-seven years. Mr. Quick was active in many local community and civic organizations.

Surviving is a son, Jason Quick and his wife Shannon of Waynesboro; a daughter, Kim Quick of Baltimore, Maryland; two grandchildren, Kylie and Kiernan Quick; a sister, Deborah (Quick) Ray and her husband Danny of Staunton; the mother of his children, Charlotte Durham Quick of Fishersville; and a number of nieces, nephews, and many friends.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made, in Robbie's memory, to the Wounded Warrior Project, Post Office Box 758540, Jacksonville, FL 32256.
Bus & Motorcoach News  is mailed twice monthly to all UMA members. In addition, it's available online 24/7 at  www.busandmotorcoachnews.com and by email, on a schedule you choose! Invite everyone on your staff to stay informed about the industry by signing up for email updates from  Bus & Motorcoach News .  Sign up here. You can choose daily or weekly updates! Below is a sampling of what's in our latest digital and print editions.
Jury sends clear message: Falsify logs and you'll pay
Bus & Motorcoach News | by Rick Stoff | June 28, 2019

A jury has ordered two Texas trucking operators and their three companies to pay Lauro Lozano Jr. $80 million in damages after they ordered him to falsify his logs and embark on a trip without his required rest reset period. The driver fell asleep at the wheel during the trip and struck another truck, suffering disabling and disfiguring injuries.

The jury approved the large award because it “specifically wanted to get the attention of all commercial motor carriers and remind them of the importance of the safety rules,” Lozano’s attorney said following the trial.

The driver continues to face surgery for his injuries four years after the crash and expects to face early retirement from driving, his attorney said. And because the companies chose not to participate in the workman’s compensation insurance program, Texas law limited their defenses against liability and damages.

Multiple and catastrophic brake failures
identified in fatal Schoharie, NY limo crash

Bus & Motorcoach News | June 25, 2019

Multiple brake defects, resulting in “catastrophic failure,” have been blamed for the crash of a stretched 2001 Ford Excursion limousine that killed 20 people at Schoharie, New York, last Oct. 6.

The limousine sped through a stop sign and went off the road, through a parking lot and into a wooded area. New York State Police reported that the limo had twice been ordered out of service last year during roadside inspections.

An inspection ordered by prosecutors after the crash found brake problems at all four wheels of the Excursion, according to documents filed in Schoharie County Court. In addition, the inspector found “severely corroded rear crossover brake tubing, ultimately realizing burst failure from brake fluid pressure by and through brake pedal application.”

MEMBER BENEFITS

Show your professionalism with a UMA member badge on your website

UMA Members are given the opportunity to use the UMA logo on any of their promotional materials. Two formats of the logo are available - high resolution for use with printed material and low resolution for use on your website with web-based products. The logo can be added to your stationery, business cards, and promotional material to proudly display your membership with the United Motorcoach Association.   Get details on the UMA website in the members-only section.

And did you know that UMA members on Busrates.com get special treatment for their profile to make it stand out, and can use the UMA logo on their listing to show their professionalism? It's another way UMA membership helps your business stay on top.

Please contact us at 1.800.424.8262 should you experience any difficulties in downloading the image files. A UMA staff member will be happy to assist you. Similarly, email Julie Ryder at     jryder@uma.org  and you can receive the artwork via email.


Motorcoach Industry Calendar

JULY 2019
  • 14-20 Operation Safe Driver Week Learn More
  • 28- August 1 , Regional Meeting of AMA, GMOA, and SCMA, Renaissance Hotel/Convention Center, Montgomery, AL Learn More

AUGUST 2019
  • 1 Deadline to nominate candidates for UMA Board of Directors
  • 6-9 IMG Strategic Alliance Meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • 12-14 Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association (MBMCA) Annual Convention and Trade Show (and Roadeo Competition), Isle Casino Hotel, Bettendorf, IA www.mbmca.org
  • 14 PBA Safety & Preparedness Workshop, York Springs, PA http://pabus.org/
  • 15-18 NAMO Annual Conference & Marketplace – Springfield, MO Oasis Hotel and Convention Center  http://www.namo-coaches.org/

SEPTEMBER 2019
  • 11 Maryland Motorcoach Association Annual Crab Feast, Kentmorr Restaurant and Crab House. Stevensville, MD
  • 18-22 Regional Meeting of NCMA, VMA, and MCASC, Embassy/Marriott/Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem, NC Learn More

OCTOBER 2019
  • 9-10 GNJMA Fall Annual Meeting & Related Events including Group Leader Marketplace, Resorts Atlantic City http://www.gnjma.com/
  • 13 -15 California Bus Association’s 46th Annual Convention and Trade Show, Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa www.cbabus.com
  • 20-22 Bus Association of New York (BANY) Annual Meeting and Marketplace, Sands Bethlehem, Bethlehem, PA – bany@banybus.org
  • October 21-23, 201920th Annual North West Motorcoach Association ROADEO Location TBD

NOVEMBER 2019

DECEMBER

JANUARY 2020

MARCH 2020
OCTOBER 2020
  • 25- 27 California Bus Association’s 47th Annual Convention and Trade Show, Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, CA (Palm Springs) www.cbabus.com
YOU ARE UMA
Remember, as a UMA member you have the power of discounts on the best products and services, access to relevant education, targeted professional resources, and colleagues all over the map. Remember to consult your member directory when you need help on the road, access to more vehicles to meet demand, or services out of your area. We are UMA! Want to find other members to do business with? Use the online directory.

Reach the UMA staff by calling (703) 838-2929 or by email at info@uma.org . We love to hear from our members!