PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY BUS ACCIDENTS SPOTLIGHTS THE LACK OF PROPER SAFETY REGULATIONS AND CONCERN FOR PASSENGERS
As gas prices continue to rise in Pennsylvania and the rest of the nation, bus and school bus transportation is at an all time high. As a direct consequence of this rise in bus passenger usage is the increase in the number of bus accidents that cause personal injuries and death.
Several million individuals will board public transportation and school buses this year. As public transportation by bus becomes a more popular mode of travel, more individuals will be at risk of being involved in a bus accident and accident induced injuries. Studies indicate that ridership has increased significantly in the past five years with fatalities and injuries from accidents also on the rise. There are over 500,000,000 bus drivers registered in the United States, with this number continuously on the rise. As more accidents occur, it is important that bus companies, their drivers, and other employees be held accountable for the negligence that contributes to such bus accidents. It is equally as important for the state and federal government agencies to implement tighter safety standards and regulations for common carriers and the manufacturers of buses that transport precious cargo.
In the last two weeks of August 2008 alone, an accident occurred involving two tour buses in Northwest New Jersey, sending dozens of Pennsylvania and New Jersey citizens to hospitals. According to the State Police, one of the buses was braking for traffic and changed lanes, hitting the rear of a second bus. The second bus was caused to move into the median, quickly dipping down about 50 feet, causing the bus to turn over on its side according to Sgt. Robert Billings of the New Jersey State Police. There were nearly 100 people on board both buses. On August 26, 2008, another bus accident occurred where a pedestrian was struck by a New Jersey Transit bus in Camden County. Earlier this summer, 50 teens, including 7 New Jerseyites were on a tour bus when it crashed and burned during a cross-country summer trip. That crash occurred when a tour bus driver missed a curve, causing the vehicle to go off a state highway while the youths were on a tour to Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah. The tour bus landed upside down in a creek bed and caught fire and burst into flames. 47 teenagers and a half dozen chaperones were onboard according to the Highway Patrol.
At the Philadelphia personal injury law firm of Reiff and Bily, we have been researching, investigating and litigating bus accident cases for almost 30 years.
More concerning than the use by adult passengers of commercial buses is the use by school children of the 585,000 school buses transporting children to schools everyday in the United States. School buses are top heavy with a high center of gravity and prone to rolling over. Their designs are antiquated according to modern standards and lack many safety features that would be and are an easy and necessary “fix”. Manufacturers continue to emphasize profits over safety. Many states surprisingly do not even require buses to have seat belts and in the school buses that do have seat belts, many students are not required to wear them.
According to statistics at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than twice as many children are killed getting on or off a school bus than are riding on them. School budgets in school districts in many states, including Pennsylvania, are forced to make choices on how their limited funds are expended. It seems that the important issue of bus safety goes to the back burner and doesn’t get addressed.
On March 4, 2008, a school bus overturned in Atlanta, Georgia. News accounts revealed that the bus driver lost control of the bus while rounding a curve. As the bus overturned on its side, children were catapulted and thrown about the bus. A recent string of bus accidents and school bus accidents in Pennsylvania and across the United States has focused increased awareness into the safety and lack of regulation surrounding this mode of transportation. Common causes of school bus and bus accidents include speeding, driver inattention, driver inexperience, lack of driver training, poor road conditions, applying brakes or turning too quickly, intoxication or drug substance abuse issues with the driver, improper background checks, maintenance issues, improper loads or many other causes which could have been easily prevented with more diligence and tighter regulation.
It is interesting to note that Federal law does not require that school buses provide seat belts for children. The National Transportation and Safety Bureau has made recommendations regarding changes in bus passenger safety and has suggested placing recording devices, such as the black box on commercial airliners, on buses. The NTSB believes that many lives can be saved with increased bus driver training and research into the driver’s background.
On August 22, 2008 and on August 11, 2008, I noted in my blog preventable bus crash claims that were easily prevented. My article indicated that the driver of one of the buses involved in a catastrophic and easily preventable crash had a traffic record including multiple citations for driving while intoxicated, speeding and driving with a suspended license. The bus companies just do not do their job in carefully evaluating who will be driving the bus which will carry many passengers. The carriers and the owners of the buses owe a strong legal responsibility to their passengers and others as the bus is considered a common carrier. A common carrier such as bus companies have a higher duty of responsibility to drive with the utmost care and protect passengers and other drivers sharing the road. However, despite this imputed higher level of responsibility, research indicates that bus drivers do not always drive safely and in some cases are not trained properly. In cases such as this, many innocent people are killed and/or injured.
In 2006, 2,500+ bus and truck accidents involved fatalities according to an NSTB report. 94% of these accidents were due to human error. In many states or cities, buses are owned or operated by local governments or municipal entities. Many times, the drivers may be considered government employees. Bus companies vigorously defend all of their accidents.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a bus accident, it is important to conduct a proper investigation looking into such aspects as the bus driver’s training history, driving record, violation of safety records, safety training, background records, including but not limited to past traffic citations, drug abuse, experience, as well as lack of proper maintenance and equipment failure by the common carrier or bus company. The experienced Philadelphia personal injury lawyers of the Pennsylvania law firm of Reiff and Bily have the expertise and experience necessary to help you obtain financial compensation for hospital bills, loss of wages and pain and suffering.
Bus drivers and bus companies, as well as their parent companies, have an obligation to insure that passengers are transported safely to their destination. If the bus driver or company negligently fails to deliver passengers in a safe and proper manner and injuries pedestrians or passenger occupants, the company and/or employee may be negligent and you may be entitled to monetary damages.
At the Pennsylvania personal injury law firm of Reiff and Bily, we have been successfully representing victims who sustain injuries as a result of bus accidents since 1979. Please contact us for a free consultation. If we decide to accept your case, there will be no fee unless there is a recovery. We only charge a small percentage of the recovery. Contact us at www.reiffandbily.com or 1-800-421-9595.
