One type of motor vehicle accident that sometimes flies under the radar is bus accidents. Buses -- whether they are privately operated or function as a part of city or state transit -- pose a serious threat to smaller vehicles out on the road. It is difficult for the drivers to see out of them (or, at least, more difficult than a common car); they are larger and more powerful; and when they are involved in an accident, usually the other vehicles involved in the crash suffer the brunt of the impact.
However, bus carriers have been under heavy scrutiny in the past year as federal regulators have cracked down on the industry for hiring unsafe and irresponsible drivers, letting inadequate vehicles out on the road, and for generally running a negligent business. As a result, many bus carriers have (rightfully) become the target of civil lawsuits by injured passengers or people in other vehicles in the wake of an accident.
That seems to be the case in a tragic bus accident that left three people dead and many more seriously injured. The bus driver has been charged with multiple counts of vehicular homicide and reckless driving. Though he and his bus company had a clean record prior to this accident, they are still under scrutiny for the manner in which the crash occurred.
The driver apparently drove past multiple signs that warned of a low overpass. And yet the bus driver barreled towards the overpass at 33 miles per hour (in a 15 MPH zone) and crashed into it.
Source: Miami Herald, "Bus driver in fatal Miami International Airport crash charged with felony vehicular homicide," Nov. 29, 2013
No Comments
Leave a comment