Its a very bad deal, I agree with turbo that is a poor design, and they already is bring up many safety issue with the current design
Six Killed In Charter Bus Crash
Discussion in 'Trucking Accidents' started by dstockwell, Mar 2, 2007.
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On the other hand sometimes it takes one big wreck to expose a company for it's serious violations.
In 1999, a company called Shuttlejack, which did a lot of charter and park n ride business in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe NM area was put out of business after a bus crash The bus crashed on the way home from a ski outing with 32 students and several adult supervisors when the brakes failed on a hill. The crash resulted in the deaths of 2 people; an adult supervisor and one of the students. An NTSB investigation turned up numerous equipment violation citations by the NMDOT (40 in the 3 years prior to the crash). Additionally Shuttlejack wasn't keeping proper maintenance records as required by law nor did they have a proper PM schedule/procedure in place. On the bus that crashed, they found that the brakes on the bus were all either out of adjustment or completely non-functional.
Shuttlejack did a lot of business with schools in the area so it was a real shock to the system for people.
In order to send a message, the NM Attorney General threw the book at the bus company owner, Ray Sena and charged him with 32 counts of child abuse, one count of manslaughter and one count of child abuse resulting in a fatality. He was convicted on all counts. -
From what I can determine, this company is a class act and they run extremely fine equipment. That bus looked like it was brand new.
Without question, the families will come after the company, and they will collect. It would be a shame to put them out of business, because this was a tragic mistake, and I'm still hedging that the roadway design will absolutely play into this at some point.
At the very LEAST, there should be a traffic light at the top of those HOV exit ramps, and for pete's sake...why no lighting at the top of those ramps as well?
The average set of headlights will illuminate an object that is only 160 feet in front of it, if it reflects light. Think about how impossible it would have been for that driver to stop after seeing that teeny, tiny stop sign at the top of that ramp...and in the dark at that. He never had a chance.
Hhhmmm...Fox News just did an update as I am writing this, and they are talking about those VERY same issues. The State of Georgia may well weather some heat over this one. They just reported that while it is a first for a commercial vehicle to have done what the bus did, there have been many accidents involving four-wheelers.
It is an extremely unusual ramp, to say the least. It's gonna get more attention too. -
The bus he was driving appears to be a VanHool T2100 series. Those buses have better than average projector beam headlamps.
My bet is that Georgia's answer to this will be to prohibit buses from the HOV lanes instead of doing something constructive like adding lights, additional signage. -
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UPDATE
Official: Wrecks common at Ga. exit ramp
3/4/07
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I'm sure that everyone has seen that one player that has been interviewed numerous times since this happened. He's become the face of this tragedy.
I have watched him practically grieve the loss of his teammates on national television. I had not heard until I watched the ABC interview of him and his father, the fact that he survived, but his seat mate on the bus, and a good friend of his, did not survive.
It's a sad thing to watch...
My heart goes out to each and every one of those people on that bus. I hope that they will be able to focus on the fact that this was not anything more than an accident in the truest sense of the word, and so far, the driver is not being villified for what happened.
It's apparent from the updates that are coming out this morning, that the NTSB and the FMCSA are taking a hard look at that interchange, and I'm glad to see that, because I consider it to be the root cause of that crash.
While I think the satellite images tell the tale, you'd have to see it from road level, and in the dark to understand how easy it was for someone unfamiliar with the road to have made the mistake that this driver did.
Whoever designed that ramp is probably not feeling so good right now, or at least I hope so. The Highway Department needs their hands slapped for not making the end of that ramp more apparent to unwary motorists with night lights and at the very LEAST....a DOGGONE FLASHING RED LIGHT!!! That would have made all the difference in the world. -
on my local news this morning (sunday) thay had the feed from the news around the nation, and they reported too about there being not sufficent signage and lights. my question(s) though, are what traffice engineering company even came up with that interchange in the first place..?? and since 'so many accidents" have happened there before, why didin't the city or state correct the problems..?? why must it take a very tragic accident before ANYONE listens and RESPONDS to such a horrific loss of life(s).....??
i hope every family sues the city and state, and the engineering comapny big time, enough so that it'll bankrupt them into oblivion........... -
Unfortunately, the state and any contractors will probably be immune in this case. The Georgia Constitution does not allow any litigation for punitive damages against the state or those that do contract work for the state, even for negligence.
If a state owned motor vehicle hits you, and it is found that the driver of that vehicle was negligent or impaired, you can only recover actual damages to property and person and it's a fight to get that out of them. Again, no punitive damages can be sought. You can't even go after a state employee privately either. They are immune as well, as long as they were on the job at the time an accident occurs.
It will be the same in this case. If the focus winds up making the road design, the lack of control devices, or anything else related to the state as the root cause of the accident, the state may pay out reimbursements, but not much else.
You can bet that there will be lighting and traffic signals installed within a month at the top of that ramp, if not sooner. But no fault will be admitted, nor will there be any apologies offered to anyone. -
Here would be my suggestion for a simple fix to this interchange. All it would cost would be a little paint.
The gradual left paint line is the problem, people are following that. If you make it at a steeper angle plus paint a few arrows showing that if you want to go straight, stay right, and if you want to exit, stay left I bet dollars to donuts you will see very few of these accidents.
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