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Shuttle drivers taken off road
After a fatal crash, an airport service finds 10 drivers with violations.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 4, 2007
FORT LAUDERDALE - The operator of an airport shuttle service has taken 10 of its drivers off the road for poor driving records following a fatal crash involving two shuttle buses. In a letter to airport officials Wednesday, the chief operating officer of Veolia Transportation acknowledged that after an internal inquiry 10 employees were found to have driving records that violate a contract with Broward County. Veolia is the parent company of ShuttlePort, which has the airport contract. The majority of the employees have only one moving violation and were moved to nondriving positions, Michael Griffus wrote. "(We) do not believe that these individuals have poor driving records or are not safe drivers," he said. Griffus also asked the county to change the contract's definition of a poor driving record, saying the contract's definition is stricter than one used by the county to hire its own bus drivers. Two people died last month when, authorities say, shuttle driver Jackson Aristide drove into oncoming traffic on an airport perimeter road at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. His bus hit another bus, killing the other driver and a passenger. Aristide had six points on his driving record, three more than allowed by ShuttlePort's contract. Aristide, who was injured in the crash, is on paid leave and "He will not drive again for ShuttlePort," Griffus' letter said. No one has been charged yet.
[Last modified March 4, 2007, 00:13:32]
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