Semi T-bones junior hockey team. 14 dead.

That's a big deal! Good for him.

 

Why would you think that hasn't been done?

I would hope the driver is remorseful, but I don't think that has any relevance. As for "forthcoming," I think that is highly subjective. According to a father of one of the deceased that arrived on scene shortly after the accident, the driver was telling the police the sun was in his eyes, which would only be possible if he was actually looking at it. And even if the sun is an issue, it is incumbent upon the driver to adjust his driving accordingly... no different than adjusting for any other environmental condition. There is no legitimate reason for not being aware of, and stopping for, the stop sign.

 

I'm not saying the investigation hasn't pulled the data. Of course it has. My point is, why put forth speculation ideas at this point?

I read somewhere the truck driver was on suicide watch which is quiet telling and not indicative of one who's sticking with an excuse.

 

Nothing wrong with speculating. We all speculated in the early days because that's all we could do. I just think it's time they share some preliminary data with the public, now. Black box information is shared with the media within days of an airliner crash. Why does this information have to be kept secret?

 

They're not finished with the investigation, but when they are, the information will be made available unless it forms part of any charges, in which case, such information might only become publicly available at trial.

Not in this country. Don't confuse "leaks" with officially authorized releases. I personally know several federally sanctioned accident investigators and they let the facts, when known, tell the story.

A motor vehicle ECM is nothing like an aviation "black box." It it not designed to record event and instrument data in a manner that aids data retrieval nor to survive a crash. The fact that the ECM is available is only a convenience. What data, if any, can be retrieved can take some effort and has to be scrutinized for validity in the case of any possible use for laying charges.

Nothing is being kept "secret," as noted above. This is a normal and proper method of disseminating information.

 

I agree but it won't happen. They'll likely wait until the investigation is complete before saying anything else. It could be many weeks.

 

That's a lot of faith you put in our government masters. As if it makes a difference. I don't need a bunch of government bots to tell me, if you stood the truck up, from where it sits, the trailer would extend back to the intersection. He was clearly at a low speed. Whether this truck ran the stop sign, or misjudged, or didn't see and pulled out, matters not. You don't have to be a government "expert" to see, the truck shouldn't have been in the intersection, and the bus tried to avoid it at the last second. The only thing the gov't has, is the ECM data, to determine speed, gears, etc. Being a driver in this industry for 18 years, I can see exactly what happened.

Not trying to pick on you. I get rather annoyed by people who think gov't is the be all and end all of everything, as though they know best. Don't take it personally.

As much as it pains me to say it, the trucker shouldn't have been in the intersection. His f-up killed 16 people. I hope he finds a way to sleep at night, because I sure as hell couldn't.

 

I'm going to assume that you think of yourself as a proficient, if not expert, driver, given your 18 years of experience. Well, I'm also going to suggest that the people investigating the accident, such as collision reconstructionists, are also experts at what they do, seeing as it is what they do every day. It has nothing to do with "the government." The government, the non political bureaucrats and employees, are just a bunch of people doing their job, just like you're doing yours.

 

To me, I wonder if that bus driver saw the truck start pulling ahead to cross the road and decided not to slow down because he, the bus driver, assumed the truck would be across the road by the time the bus reached him BUT didn't expect the second trailer until it was too late, "Uh, oh"

Ditto on the speculation of the bus driver being distracted(read: pretty reporter somewhere in the front seat, gotta talk to her!)

also, the bus driver had over two decades of driving experience under his belt--sometimes that breeds over-confidence(as a 23 year driver I knew who decided to reach down and over for a bottle of water and crushed a passing van--23 years of accident free driving, wiped)

Of course, the truck driver may have been one of those many drivers(truck drivers and four-wheelers alike)who come up to an intersection along those country highways, sit at it for many seconds--and I think that, "great, they're waiting for me to clear and I'll breeze by, and we can all carry on"--but nope, suddenly decide that now--mere seconds before I arrive at the crossing point--is the time to pull out and over or pull out and turn.(grain haulers are the worst for this....mind you, that's who I see the most out on these grain field highways)

BOTH were professional drivers and both have contributed to this #### storm, unfortunately, only one driver gets to tell their side of the story, sadly, there are no dash cams or that little black box that planes have.....let's wait and see. sigh.