WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal, state and local police began conducting thousands of surprise safety inspections of motorcoaches, tour buses, school buses and other passenger vehicles across the country on Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced.

The operation, launched on the same day as the government’s Motorcoach Safety Summit in Washington, D.C., is part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) nationwide Passenger Carrier Strike Force. The two-week inspection sweep will continue through Oct. 7.

FMCSA also announced that it will release a new smartphone application that will give consumers quick and easy access to a motorcoach company’s safety record before booking a trip. The smartphone application, which will be released in November, will also allow the public to submit any safety violation to FMCSA’s National Consumer Compliant Database.

During the day-long Motorcoach Safety Summit, safety leaders discussed the DOT's intermodal approach to strengthening motorcoach safety, followed by a panel highlighting the perspectives of people responsible for the day-to-day safety of motorcoach passengers, vehicles and drivers.

“This summit is about preventing needless tragedies and saving lives,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “We’ve seen the horrific consequences when motorcoach companies do not make safety a top priority. With everyone at the table, we can achieve our shared goal of raising the safety bar for the motorcoach industry.”