A SENIOR executive with a bus leasing company in Los Angeles has claimed that most of the American city's Chinese-run minibuses and Chinese bus drivers are unlicensed.

He was speaking out after two Chinese tourists died in an accident in northwest Arizona on Sunday.

About 90 percent of Chinese-run 15-seat commercial buses in Los Angeles are unlicensed while more than 80 percent of Chinese bus drivers are not qualified for the job, the executive, who declined to be named, told the Xinmin Evening News.

A commercial driver's license in the US is only granted after candidates pass a strict exam in English, he said. A 15-seat bus can be used privately but licenses are needed if they are used commercially.

A driver without a commercial license costs US$30 or US$40 a day less than a qualified driver and a bus operating without a commercial license can save its operator at least US$7,000 a year in insurance, the executive told the newspaper.

Chinese drivers without a commercial license and who speak little English are usually hired to drive excursion buses carrying Chinese visitors to scenic sites, he told the Shanghai newspaper.

However, there is no suggestion that the bus or driver in Sunday's incident were unlicensed.

Officials with the Chinese consulate are working with the Mohave County sheriff's office in the aftermath of the accident. The county sheriff's office confirmed that two Chinese tourists had died and eight had been injured.

Two survivors are in a critical condition while another passenger is in a serious condition.

Five passengers had been treated for minor injuries and four had been discharged from hospital.

The accident took place near the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in northwestern Arizona, when a tour bus operated by TBE International Inc carrying 10 passengers and a tour guide from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon West swerved off the road.

The dead, a 46-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, are not being named until relatives have been notified.

The driver, 49-year-old Zhi Lu, and the tour guide, 52-year-old Qiang Du, were uninjured.

One of the survivors, surnamed Xu, said that she and her fellow passengers were colleagues from Guangdong Province. Xu suffered arm and rib fractures.

Police spokeswoman Trish Carter told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the bus was traveling east when it drifted off the right side of the road onto the dirt shoulder.

She said that TBE International held a "satisfactory" rating with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as of May 2010.

• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• commercial [kə´mə:ʃəl] a.商业的 n.广告节目 (初中英语单词)
• operator [´ɔpəreitə] n.操作者；接线员 (初中英语单词)
• suggestion [sə´dʒestʃən] n.建议，提议；暗示 (初中英语单词)
• incident [´insidənt] n.小事件；事变 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• federal [´fedərəl] a.联邦的，联邦制的 (初中英语单词)
• administration [əd,minis´treiʃən] n.管理(事务等)；经营 (初中英语单词)
• senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
• northwest [,nɔ:θ´west] n.&ad.西北(部) (高中英语单词)
• arizona [,æri´zəunə] n.亚利桑那(州) (高中英语单词)
• strict [strikt] a.严厉的；精确的 (高中英语单词)
• critical [´kritikəl] a.批评的；关键性的 (高中英语单词)
• recreation [,rekri´eiʃən] n.消遣；休养 (高中英语单词)
• carrier [´kæriə] n.搬运工人；托架 (高中英语单词)
• excursion [ik´skə:ʃən] n.短途旅行，游览；离题 (英语四级单词)
• northwestern [,nɔ:θ´westən] a.西北的；自西北的 (英语四级单词)
• canyon [´kænjən] n.峡谷 (英语四级单词)
• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
• privately [´praivitli] ad.秘密，一个人 (英语六级单词)