The San Francisco tour bus company involved in a crash which injured 20 people in November has been warned it could lose its operator’s license after inspectors found numerous safety violations.
A safety audit by the Motor Carrier Safety Unit of the California Highway Patrol found 61 violations, including 29 relating to equipment problems after checking six of its vehicles after the crash.
Inspectors forced the company to take four buses out of service immediately due to emergency exits that did not work properly, faulty brake lamps and a potentially serious fuel leak in one bus.
It said City Sightseeing could have its license revoked or even face criminal charges if it does not fix the problems within 120 days.
In November a City Sightseeing bus careered into scaffolding on Union Square injuring 20 people, due to mechanical failure.
City Sightseeing CEO Christian Watts said most of the violations found by inspectors were immediately rectified.
"The remaining issues in the report are related to past paperwork procedures. As a result, we have instituted operational changes to our internal processes to ensure future compliance." Watts said.
Meanwhile another tour bus was involved in a collision in the city on Saturday.
Nine people aboard a double-decker vehicle operated by Big Bus Tours of San Francisco suffered minor injuries after it collided with a SUV on The Embarcadero.
