Bus, limo drivers cited at LI checkpoint

A party bus barreling down the highway with a flat tire, en route to pick up passengers. A chauffeur with a twice-suspended license behind the wheel of a limousine. A casino bus driver who'd just dropped off gamblers and had falsified his log book, filling out entries for the rest of the day -- and the next one too.

Suffolk police said those violators were among the 11 drivers and vehicles ticketed and taken out of service in Melville Saturday at a checkpoint inspired by last month's fatal bus crash in the Bronx. That crash killed 15 passengers on the New York State Thruway.

"We've always done enforcement . . . but it's just enhanced enforcement now because of that tragedy on the Thruway," Suffolk police Sgt. Michael Mallin said.

Since the tragedy, there's been a renewed push by the federal and state government to crack down, Mallin said.

So from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., near Exit 49 on the Long Island Expressway, Mallin's officers as well as state Department of Transportation inspectors stopped buses and limos and checked the vehicles and their drivers at a park-and-ride.

Twenty vehicles were inspected and 22 tickets issued. Seven drivers were taken out of service. Four vehicles were taken off the road "for serious mechanical defects," police said in a news release.

The inspections, which took about 20 minutes, checked to make sure that drivers had the proper licenses and that their vehicles met safety standards for categories such as turn signals, tires and emergency exits, said Mallin, of the motor carrier safety section.

Drivers must also keep log books of their travels. The law restricts how long a driver can drive without rest.