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Report: Jeff Gordon merch bus goes up in flames [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Celebrities

A Jeff Gordon team merchandising bus caught fire on a Georgia freeway.

A bus belonging to NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon caught fire on the side of the I-85 freeway in Georgia Wednesday afternoon as it was headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Avocare 500 this weekend, the West Jackson Fire Department reports. There were no injuries, and Gordon was not onboard what appears to be a team merchandising bus, authorities say.

Firefighters shut down the southbound side of the freeway while they put out the flames, and they say the fire didn’t spread to the trailer being towed by the bus.

The fire department didn’t mention what caused the fire. Perhaps somebody dropped a cigarette onto some hard liquor while sorting bobble heads? What happens on the tour bus stays on the tour bus… Check out the fire department’s press release and watch a video report below.

Continue reading Jeff Gordon merch bus goes up in flames [w/video]

Jeff Gordon merch bus goes up in flames [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Aug 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Italian bus driver fired for driving with elbows while using two phones

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Safety, Videos

Bus Driver with two cell phones in Rome

Bus Driver with two cell phones – Click above to watch video after the jump

The Italians sure do know how to live. Their vehicles are more beautiful, their meals more delicious and their bus drivers more distracted. Just take a look at the video after the jump to see what we mean.

While jostling through the hectic traffic of Rome (of course it’s in Rome, where else?) this particular driver took the time to attempt to set up his email on a new smartphone while speaking to customer service on a second handheld device. That’s right, this guy was rocking two phones at once while ferrying a load of people through the city streets.

Now, you may be wondering exactly how the mechanics of such a situation would play out. Our enterprising pilot took to steering the bus by using his elbows. According to The Guardian, the company that owns the bus service has suspended the driver pending a full investigation. Still, it’s terrifying to know that this guy is likely still behind the wheel of his personal vehicle. Click past the break to see the full video for yourself.

Continue reading Italian bus driver fired for driving with elbows while using two phones

Italian bus driver fired for driving with elbows while using two phones originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 May 2011 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LaHood details new tour bus safety measures

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Safety, Work

Tour bus boarding in NY

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced new tour bus safety measures that could make it a lot more difficult for companies to operate their fleets in an unsafe manner. Among the sweeping changes are a requirement for tour bus companies to pass a safety audit before receiving permission to operate. The audit will include a safety exam of both the drivers and vehicles, in addition to an interview with the owners of the company. Current laws permit companies to operate for up to 18 months without a safety evaluation.

The federal agency also finalized a proposal to tighten requirements for offering a commercial driver’s license. The new license can be obtained only after obtaining a learner’s permit, and all states issuing the test will need to use a federal testing system.

While the new operating and testing procedures will help ensure the safety of the estimated 700 million passengers who utilize tour buses every year, several bus safety standards have still not been announced. The Transportation Department is hoping to add requirements that new buses have seat belts and stronger roofs and windows to prevent passengers from being ejected in a roll-over accident.

The renewed interest in tour bus safety came after a string of accidents, including a March 12 crash in New York that lead to the death of 15 passengers. The bus, which was traveling at the maximum speed of 78 miles per hour, fell off an elevated highway and hit a utility pole.

LaHood details new tour bus safety measures originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 May 2011 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cheeky coed’s butt wins vintage VW bus

Filed under: Classics, Minivan/Van, Etc., Volkswagen, Humor

Hollister 1978 Volkswagen Microbus winner Lizzy Marola – Click above for high-res image gallery

Hollister and Facebook have teamed up to take social media to new and lofty heights. The clothing company just wrapped up a contest in which users were invited to submit photos of their derrières in Hollister jeans. Both guys and girls could enter for a chance to take home one very awesome, custom 1978 Volkswagen Microbus, complete with all the surf gear you’d need to at least pretend like you’re a beach bum. Facebook users were invited to judge the competing rears and vote on their favorites, and one rump stood above the rest.

Lizzy Marola entered the contest at a Hollister store on a whim and wound up winning the eyes of enough voters to take home the bus of her dreams. Marola is a freshman at Coastal Carolina University, so there’s at least some chance that those long boards will hit the water in the near future.

The Microbus was delivered to Marola at her home in Torrington College, Connecticut recently on a trailer before being inspected and registered. If you’re interested to see the image that won it for her, click here.

Gallery: Hollister 1978 Volkswagen Microbus Giveaway

[Sources: Litchfield County Times, Facebook]

Cheeky coed’s butt wins vintage VW bus originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: LaHood pushes for total phone ban among truck and bus drivers

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

The U.S. Department of Transportation is looking into a full-on mobile phone ban for commercial drivers while behind the wheel as part of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s initiative to curb distracted driving. According to Reuters, the move would further impact the four million drivers who are already forbidden from texting while driving.

Last year, driver inattention was cited as the prevailing factor for around nine percent of all large truck crashes in 2009. That number was down from 2008, but not low enough for LaHood or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While the number of distracted big-rig crashes may have declined slightly last year, the number of fatal bus accidents actually increased from 20 in 2008 to 38 in 2009.

The National Transportation Safety Board reports that of all bus crashes, somewhere between six and thirteen percent can be attributed to a distracted driver. LaHood’s proposal will have to endure a 60-day comment period before being finalized.

[Source: Reuters via MSNBC]

Report: LaHood pushes for total phone ban among truck and bus drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Redneck Visionary bus jump something you don’t see every day

Filed under: Videos, Work, Humor

Magic Bus

Yep. That’s a bus in mid-air – Click above to watch video after the jump

For all of the wonders that the internet has unleashed, it has also desensitized an entire generation. Once upon a time, we’d have been shocked to watch someone shove a nine iron into a blender, but thanks to the proliferation of online videos, gratuitous and rampant destruction barely elicits a yawn nowadays. Perhaps that’s why we’re so taken with this video.

We don’t know why somebody decided to see what happens when a full-sized charter bus hits a motocross jump at speed. We’re just happy that they did (and that they brought a camera along). Hats off to the crew that orchestrated this mayhem, which you can watch for yourselves after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: ~~Redneck~~ Visionary bus jump something you don’t see every day

Video: ~~Redneck~~ Visionary bus jump something you don’t see every day originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Laws: Commercial truck and bus drivers banned from texting while driving

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

Ray Lahood mimics phone

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that in 2009 alone, 5,500 fatalities and half a million injuries occurred as a direct result of distracted driving. The problem is so severe that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (above) recently felt compelled to address Autoblog readers directly in an effort to spread the word about how dangerous it is to multitask while driving.

The Department of Transportation isn’t resting its hopes on Autoblog, though. The DoT has initiated the second National Distracted Driving Summit this week to shine light on the problem, and the government’s latest offensive isn’t going out to texting teens or phone-obsessed commuters. The early pressure is on drivers transporting hazardous materials, commercial truck and bus drivers and rail operators. LaHood opened this week’s summit by talking up new laws that ban commercial bus and truck drivers from texting and driving, while train operators can no longer legally use cell phones or other electronic devices from the driver’s seat. Companies are also getting in on the act, as 1,600 corporations have banned distracted driving, affecting 10.5 million drivers. Another 500 companies will reportedly follow suit in the next year.

Beyond new laws covering commercial drivers, LaHood and friends are also touting the results of heavily increased enforcement. In Hartford, Connecticut 4,956 tickets have been passed out to texting or talking drivers. Syracuse, New York police have issued another 4,446 citations. We usually get anything but excited when hearing about increased tickets and fines, but the results of the texting and talking crackdown are difficult to ignore. The DoT press release after the jump tells us that surveys and observations claim that phone usage is down 56 percent in Hartford and 38 percent in Syracuse. Further, texting is down 68 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Hit the jump to read over the press release.

[Source: Department of Transportation | Image: AP]

Continue reading New Laws: Commercial truck and bus drivers banned from texting while driving

New Laws: Commercial truck and bus drivers banned from texting while driving originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jet-powered school bus reaches 350 mph, eliminates tardy slips

Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, Specialty

Jet School Bus

School Time Jet Bus – Click above to watch video after the jump

Riding the bus to school was never exactly a pleasure cruise, but when we turned 15, it suddenly moved from a lower form of torture like water boarding and squarely into the realm of driving bamboo under our fingernails. Having tasted the freedom afforded by piloting the family Suburban into the high school parking lot with a pale, wide-eyed parent pleading to various deities from the passenger seat, being forced back into the worst possible interpretation of public transportation was an insult too great to stand.

Things might have been different if we’d been riding this beast to school.

Built by Paul Stender and his crew of mad scientists at IndyBoys, Inc, the School Time Jet Bus is a 35-foot long cheese wagon with a 42,000-horsepower GE J-79 jet engine borrowed from an F4 Phantom. While most of the vehicle is a complete custom creation, it can still seat up to three passengers. Did we mention it shoots 75-foot flames? According to the IndyBoys web site, the bus is built to topple the 350 mph barrier, but it’s unclear as to whether or not anyone has been brave enough to get the bus close to that speed. Hit the jump for a video of the creation showing off at an airshow. Thanks for the tip, Lawrence!

[Source: CNet]

Continue reading Jet-powered school bus reaches 350 mph, eliminates tardy slips

Jet-powered school bus reaches 350 mph, eliminates tardy slips originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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