Federal officials recently cracked down on several low-cost bus companies operating from Chinatown in Manhattan, prompting the closure of 26 bus lines. This crackdown comes on the heels of numerous crashes involving bus companies from Chinatown, the deadliest of which occurred in 2011.
A tour bus carrying 32 passengers from a Connecticut casino slammed into an interstate guardrail, rolled and slid through a large highway sign. Fifteen passengers were killed in the bus accident, and another seven were severely injured.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently wrapped up a congressional hearing to determine the cause of the accident. Investigations show that driver fatigue was the largest contributing factor. Records from the driver’s cellular phone company show that he had spent most of the three days prior to the accident talking on his phone while wandering around the New York City area. It is believed that the driver had no significant sleep during this time.
According to several surviving passengers, the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Investigators did not find evidence that the driver had braked before the bus hit the freeway sign. The bus was believed to be traveling at about 78 mph, its top speed, and officials determined it was traveling at about 64 mph when it struck the sign.
Fatigue coupled with speed is particularly dangerous. Accidents like this are preventable. The NHTSA has guidelines to help owners and operators of large vehicles ensure that their drivers are not working under fatigued conditions, for the safety of the driver, passengers and fellow motorists.
Source: The New York Times, “Driver Fatigue and Speed Caused Fatal Bus Crash, Investigators Say,” Patrick McGeehan, June 5, 2012.