California Injury Attorney Blog

A decade after recommendations were made for truck and bus safety, the conversation continues. As California injury attorneys, we are pleased that, at the very least, safety is being discussed.

The national forum on truck and bus crashes and safety began earlier this week in Washington, D.C. The two-day forum which convened at the National Transportation Safety Board goes through today. Live webcasts and other information can be found at the NTSB website.

The NTSB has been raising the level of awareness in the areas of truck and bus accident safety and the forum is intended to bring together industry experts including safety, regulatory and the trucking and busing industry to talk about the continued dangers of transportation. Long-standing recommendations have yet to be enacted or implemented.

The Associated Press report on the forum, reminds us of one of the major safety issues being discussed during the forum -- the terrible consequences of truck driver fatigue. For example, some remember the 2009 accident in Oklahoma in which a truck failed to stop to avoid a fender bender in its path. Although there was plenty of time and space for the truck to avoid the cars in front of it, the truck drove through the sitting traffic. Ten people were killed as the truck rode over passenger cars dragging them until it stopped. The investigation revealed that the truck driver had slept only about five hours the night before the accident and had been driving for nearly 10 hours.

The forum is looking at fatigue as a big factor in these crashes, roughly 40 percent are due to fatigue. The Obama administration is seeking to ensure measures like mandatory rest breaks, reduction of hours behind the wheel and other rules are put in place to manage driver fatigue.

Although truck fatalities have improved in the past few years, dropping from 2005 to 2009 by about 2,000, there are still too many such tragic incidents.

Similarly, bus fatalities have continued with recent fatal crashes, including one this past March in New York involving a casino trip to Connecticut in which 15 people were killed and 18 injured. Many injuries in bus crashes involve ejection of passengers from the vehicles.

Bus safety improvements are part of this conversation. For years, the NTSB has had a recommendation that buses have similar safety measures as cars, such as seat belts, stronger bus roofs, windows that open and other basic measures that could save lives in a bus accident.

Hersh & Hersh has represented the victims of serious car and truck accidents for many decades. We applaud the conversation about safety, but would hope that recommendations are implemented that would help save lives.

If you or a family member has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, please contact our San Francisco office for a free consultation with one of our lawyers. We represent accident victims throughout California and can help support you and your family through this most challenging time in your lives.

The tragic bus accident that killed 15 passengers earlier this year in New York, is a sad ending to the many lives lost. Now it has been determined that the bus was traveling 78 miles per hour when it crashed and flipped. The wrongful death and injury lawyers of the California Injury Attorney Blog know that this indicates the accident could have been avoided.

This news was delivered last month by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which found that the bus was traveling at the highest rate of speed possible for the vehicle only 45 seconds prior to its departure from I-95. At the time of the crash, the bus was traveling between the Bronx and a casino in eastern Connecticut.

In addition to the work of the NTSB in putting together the pieces of this tragedy, the New York State Police are involved in the investigation and have been interviewing witnesses and conducting studies of the crash. The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether the bus driver will be charged criminally.

The bus driver's account of the accident included a claim that he was trying to avoid hitting a tractor-trailor that had passed him and veered towards the bus. And now it has been revealed that he had served time in prison for manslaughter and larceny convictions -- his license has been suspended.

In fact there is no evidence that the accident happened the way the driver described it. Another truck driver came forward as a witness and has said that the tractor-trailer that is alleged to have swerved towards the bus, did not do so.

The investigation has revealed that the bus reached its fastest speed of 78 miles per hour in the 45 seconds before the crash. The speed limit was 55 miles per hour.

There is some thought that the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel of the bus according to some of the surviving passengers.

Continue reading "Fatal Bus Crash -- Speed Possible Factor " »

Over a decade ago, the National Transportation Safety Board made recommendations for bus safety, but the Transportation Department did not implement them and Congress did not act either. Now that bus crashes have taken the lives of many from skiers to college baseball players to slot machine seekers -- Congress is interested in safety legislation.

California bus accidents and deaths have taken a toll as well. In 2009, five people were killed and 38 injured in a tour bus accident involving mainly French nationals. In July 2010, a Greyhound bus traveling from Sacramento to LA ended up crashing with sixth deaths. These are only examples of what is becoming a common tragedy.

In fact, so many people have been killed or seriously injured in California and across the nation when a bus accident does occur, it is impossible to continue to ignore the safety issues. One basic recommendation has been around for a long time, installation of seatbelts in buses. Another recommendation includes the use of recorders that track how long a bus driver has been driving. Another still another calls for stronger roofs, windows that can be opened and more advanced glass windows that are less likely to injure passengers in an accident.

One chilling statistic is hard to ignore. Deaths occur in bus or motor coach accidents due to rollovers and most of those deaths happen because passengers are ejected.
The safety board plans to hold hearings soon on the implementation of the recommendations made so many deaths ago.

Although Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has a plan to implement the recommendations, only one has been put in place. No texting by bus or truck drivers while driving. Apparently, the Secretary is working with police in over ten states with what the AP called "surprise bus inspections."

New driver testing standards are also in the works, as are ways to avoid testing fraud. Drivers apparently also have a lot to do with bus crashes. In fact, the NTSB says that 60 percent of deadly bus crashes relate to issues with drivers.

Although the current administration is reported to have greater enforcement than the prior one, there is much more to do to stop bus accidents and deaths. It would cost nearly $90,000 to implement new safety standards in new buses. But many believe that consumers would be willing to pay more to ride a bus they know is safer.

California injury and consumer law firm, Hersh & Hersh has represented those injured in bus and other motor vehicle accidents for decades. As a highly-respected injury and consumer firm, the lawyers of Hersh & Hersh have a dedication to clients and their families that is unsurpassed. Please contact our offices for a free consultation with one of our experienced injury trial lawyers.