A least nine people were injured Tuesday when a Metro bus rear-ended a vehicle in northwest Houston, causing a chain-reaction crash involving 11 vehicles, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Seven passengers on the bus and two occupants of the vehicles suffered minor injuries, Metro spokeswoman Carolina Mendoza said. All were transported to area hospitals, and none of the injuries were life-threatening, she said. However, this is not always the case with commercial bus accidents. Many times the life injuries are life threatening and even result in death.
Many reasons exist for the numerous bus wrecks today. One of the most important areas seeking to be improved by the current governmental administration is driver fatigue. According to the NTSB, as much as one-third of all commercial motor vehicle crashes are due to fatigue. There are already limits on the number of hours that truckers and bus drivers can drive, but the Administration is seeking to decrease those hours a little more. But the limitation on hours driven is meaningless if it can’t be enforced. Currently, drivers are required to maintain log books that detail their hours behind the wheel. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many cases where those log books were fudged or the driver maintained two sets of log books to allow them to “beat” the regulation.
Another proposal from the Administration would require equipping buses and trucks with devices that would record how many hours drivers were behind the wheel.
The Administration also wants trucks and buses to have some of the same safety technology that buses and trucks use in other countries. For example, buses and trucks could have electronic stability control (which helps prevent rollovers), warning systems to alert drivers they’re drifting in lanes, and warning systems that alert drivers to impending collisions.
We at Cappolino, Dodd, Krebs LLP have many years of combined experience in helping people deal with loss and death due to bus accidents. Call one of our experienced bus wreck attorneys today for a free consultation. We can help you determine if you may have a case and help you obtain a settlement for your loss.