Georgia Injury Law Blog

A school bus driver who was caught driving under the influence in another state underscores to Atlanta bus accident lawyers the challenges involved in keeping children safe on school buses. Importantly, school districts must be extremely diligent in hiring bus qualified drivers or they risk serious injuries to children and claims for negligent hiring and retention.  A New Jersey school bus driver was arrested on charges of driving under the influence.  That on its own may not have been a media- worthy event, except for the fact that it was the children on the school bus who called and informed their parents about the driver’s intoxicated behavior. 

Parents received calls from their children on the bus, who noted that their driver was driving erratically and was dozing off at the wheel.  The frantic parents called the school, and school authorities got in touch with the police.  The driver, Carole Crockett was later arrested.  She has been charged with DUI with a minor, endangering the welfare of a child, disorderly conduct and a number of other charges. 

Police conducted breath tests, and found that Crockett registered at a startling .25% on the test.  She is a commercial bus driver, and therefore, her maximum allowed BAC level is .04%, compared to the .08% that is allowed for other motorists.  On a side note, this is one instance where Atlanta car accident lawyers are really glad that the children on the school bus happened to have their cell phones with them and used them.  With a BAC concentration of .25%, it's highly likely that this driver would have caused an accident.

There are lessons from this incident for schools and bus drivers in the state of Georgia too.  When parents drop children off at a bus stop, they don't expect to entrust their child to a person who is too intoxicated to see straight.  School districts, boards and schools must take their responsibility to higher competent drivers for their buses very seriously.  There is a significant risk of accidents and personal injury when a commercial bus or truck driver is driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.  This is the reason why there are stricter blood-alcohol limit rules for commercial drivers.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents , DUI | 0 Comments Permalink

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a new weapon in the fight against unsafe bus carriers that place passenger lives at risk of personal injury and wrongful death. The agency is planning to unveil a smartphone application that will allow passengers to determine the safety of a bus carrier before they buy a ticket for a trip. This type of transparency is essential for eliminating the “bad” bus carriers who cause most of the bus accidents. However, passengers should be warned that the information about their past records may be limited to due the limited nature of the enforcement personnel available to police the industry.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will likely unveil the new application in the month of November. The announcement of the app was made on September 23 at a bus safety Summit in Washington DC. The summit, the Motor Coach Safety Summit looked at ways that the federal agency can help reduce the operation of unsafe carriers on our highways.  The Motor Coach Safety Summit also considered new hours of service requirements for drivers of passenger buses. All of these changes are welcomed by bus accident lawyers, although they have been a long time in coming.

The app will allow a passenger to check the safety record of a particular bus carrier, before buying a ticket. This allows the passenger to access valuable information about the safety of the carrier. The app won't just give passengers information about the safety of a bus carrier, but will also allow them to submit safety violations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's National Consumer Compliant Database.

The Motor Coach Safety Summit looked at ways to enhance training programs for drivers, in order to reduce the risk of accidents. One particular bus safety issue that has vexed Atlanta bus accident lawyers has to do with bus driver fatigue. Commercial driver fatigue concerns tend to revolve around truck drivers, but the fact is that several recent accidents have been caused by bus drivers sleeping at the wheel. One accident in 2008 in California occurred when the bus driver dozed off at the wheel, causing the bus to fall into a ditch. Eight people were killed in that accident. 

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

School buses in Cobb County now come with video cameras that can capture vital information on motorists who fail to halt when a school bus is at a stop. Atlanta bus accident lawyers believe that it is important to have such measures in order to reduce the risk of accidents, especially now that school has begun.

Many accidents involving school children occur when school buses are at a bus stop. Under the law, drivers are required to halt when a school bus is at a stop. Earlier, when a bus driver found a motorist who violated this rule, he had to write down the tag number, the date and time of the incident and vehicle description and submit this information to authorities. However, a Georgia law that was amended this year allows bus drivers to use video recordings made of the errant motorists. 

Now, a bus driver does not have to give a written statement that contains the tag number and other information. The footage from the video camera can be used to find the errant driver. This makes the job of bus drivers that much easier. The driver does not have to focus on writing down the tag number of the offending vehicle ,which can distract him from his duties. These digital cameras can record the tag numbers and other information of motorists who ignore the law. The initiative is the result of efforts by two people in memory of a five-year-old girl who was killed by a driver who failed to stop at a bus stop.

In Cobb County, school officials have now installed video cameras in 102 school buses. Out of the 1,180 buses in the Cobb County School District, nearly 10% have the camera. It has been an expensive project. Each camera costs about $200, and is part of a network of cameras used to monitor the situation inside the buses too.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has obtained a Georgia's State Patrol investigative report into the fatal school bus accident in Carroll County in 2010 that resulted in the wrongful death of a student. The investigative report blames drowsy driving by the school bus driver, and also indicates that students on the bus were nervous about the bus driver’s driving abilities.

The accident occurred in October 2010, when a group of fourteen high school students were traveling from Temple High School to a vocational school. Suddenly, the bus veered to the right of the road and into a ditch. It then overturned, leaving more than a dozen students with personal injuries.  A seventeen-year-old student on the bus was killed. He was partially ejected from the bus when it flipped over, and was trapped underneath the bus.

The driver of the bus was a trainee who was scheduled to take his test to become a full-time driver the next day. He had not completed six hours of required training.    The investigative report seemed to indicate that the driver had a record of unsafe driving, and students on the bus had been afraid for their safety on the day of the accident. Several students also mentioned to investigators that the way he was driving, especially over dirt roads, was very unsafe. This week, he was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $600 for failure to stay in his lane. 

It is not just students on the bus who had doubts about the driver’s driving abilities. His trainer told investigators that she had been concerned about his driving performance, and that students who had been in his bus on that fateful day, had also been afraid about traveling in his bus. The trainer told investigators that the driver never bothered much with mirror usage, and failed to focus on the task of driving. She told investigators that the morning before the accident, he had run over a dog without bothering to avoid it; a common accident situation when a driver’s attention is elsewhere. 

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

An investigation by USA Today indicates that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may have provided inaccurate information about bus accident fatality data between 1995 and 2009. This could have caused a misconception that buses on our highways are safer, and that fewer people are dying in bus accidents. Personal injury lawyers handling bus accidents know that is not true at all.

The USA Today Investigation focused on bus accident deaths between 1995 and 2009, and found more than a few accident fatalities that went missing from the federal data. The investigation found that overall, at least 42 deaths went missing from the official federal data. The investigation also found that since 2003, at least 32 bus accident deaths were not included in the final federal data.

In addition, there were 42 fatalities that occurred on midsize buses which were not accounted in the federal data either, because these buses are not included in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s definition of a motor coach.

This is not just a slight oversight on the part of the federal administration. These are glaring errors that have emboldened the bus industry to claim that buses in the United States are much safer now than they have ever been. During recent congressional hearings, the bus industry touted the safety record of its buses, citing decreasing accident fatalities. As the USA Today investigation indicates, the fatalities have probably not declined that much. Dozens of fatalities are missing from federal estimates which means that the actual toll is much higher.

As Atlanta accident lawyers know, bus safety is a serious issue in Atlanta. Memories of the Bluffton University bus accident of 2007 are still fresh in our minds. Five members of the Bluffton University baseball team were killed in that accident.   The bus driver and his wife also died. 

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents , Wrongful Death | 0 Comments Permalink

As a personal injury lawyer, I believe that the problem of “reincarnation” of bus companies after they have been shut down is one of the most serious safety issues that places passengers at risk of injury or wrongful death in accidents. A Georgia-based bus company has been shut down by the US Department of Transportation, for operating under a new name.

According to the Department of Transportation, its officers had found the bus company operating under a new name after it had earlier been shut down for unsafe operations. The company, earlier known as JCT Motor Coach, had been shut down after federal officials found several safety violations. The company then reincarnated itself under a new name, JT Travel and Charter. According to the US Department of Transportation, this company is a serious hazard to public safety. The company is under order to cease operations immediately.

According to the agency, its officers pulled over one of the company’s buses at a stop, and found so many violations, that they decided to pay the company a visit. There, they found even more violations, and decided to order the company to stop operations. According to the Department Of Transportation, some of the company's violations included a failure to ensure that its fleet of vehicles was properly inspected, and underwent regular maintenance and repairs. The company also used medically unqualified drivers and drivers who had failed alcohol and drug tests. Besides, JCT Motor Coach had also been cited for not complying with the federal Hours of Work requirement for bus drivers. The company had also falsified vehicle maintenance records. 

That is a terrible laundry list of violations, and it includes just about every bus safety hazard out there. It's no wonder that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chose to order JCT Motor Coach off the roads. However, the bus company seems to have had no trouble resuming operations under a different name.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

Bus safety in the United States is a major concern, and unless the federal agency in charge of bus safety receives the funds it needs to conduct inspections, Atlanta bus accident attorneys expect the number of bus accidents around the country to increase. An increase in bus accidents will result in a substantial increase in wrongful deaths and serious personal injuries. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief is calling on lawmakers to earmark more funds for the agency to conduct inspections and carry out a number of other bus safety initiatives.

Currently, the agency lacks sufficient personnel to conduct inspections of the long-distance bus industry in the country. According to Ferro, who was speaking before a congressional hearing, what her agency would like to do is inspect every long-distance bus at least once every year. She would also like for inspectors to conduct surprise safety checks. For that, the agency needs more funding and more personnel.

Ferro also wants the current DOT fee for bus operators to be hiked from its current $300. She also wants to increase the fine for bus safety violations from $2,000 currently, to $25,000.  The hearing was attended by representatives of the bus industry. These groups are not likely to embrace any of these proposals with open arms. 

At the hearing, Ferro had sobering statistics for Atlanta bus accident attorneys and anyone concerned with bus safety in the country. According to her, 2011 had been a terrible year for bus safety, with a total of six major accidents around the country resulting in 25 deaths. These accidents also caused dozens of injuries. The agency desperately needs the funds necessary to conduct frequent inspections of buses and keep unsafe operators off the road.

In fact, the agency likely needs more funds than it has requested. The requested funds would help keep unsafe buses off the road, but probably would not have the level of impact needed to identify unsafe drivers. Driver errors is one of the central causes of bus accidents. Unfortunately, many of the “lower end” bus companies fail to run adequate background checks on the drivers they hire or they choose to turn a blind eye to drivers with unsafe records. Providing the agency with a more significant funding increase would go a long way to addressing the problem of unsafe drivers.

The request for increased fines for bus safety violations is long overdue. However, the fines are simply not enough. Rather, the licenses of bus companies need to be revoked with more regularity if they are found to employ unsafe drivers or to operate unsafe buses. In the end, these buses have a tremendous potential to harm both their passengers and innocent motorists and pedestrians. If operators fail to run a safe company, they have no right to continue to exist.

Although the Federal government can do a great deal to address bus safety, the job is not their responsibility alone. State and local governments also have a significant role to play. Public service commissions as well as law enforcement agencies can do a great deal to identify unsafe drivers, buses and companies. Federal, State, and local government agencies need to work in a coordinated fashion to protect the public the danger of unsafe bus operators.

http://transportationnation.org/2011/06/13/fed-regulator-tells-congress-she-needs-more-authority-to-crack-down-on-unsafe-buses/

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

A bus accident in Virginia that killed four people would not have occurred if the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had put the bus company out of service for repeated violations. The agency failed to do so, allowing the bus company to operate for a few more days while it appealed. Just a few days later, the bus crashed on a Virginia highway, killing four people and injuring 53 passengers. This is an indication to Atlanta accident attorneys that the federal agency needs to seriously reconsider its procedures that allow unsafe bus companies to operate.

The federal agency had planned to put the bus company, North Carolina-based Sky Express out of service for a series of repeated violations. What the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should have done was to force the company to ground all its buses immediately. It failed to do so. Instead, the agency decided to give the company an extension to appeal. This decision proved fatal for at least four passengers on a Sky Express bus that crashed just a few days later.

The bus driver in that accident told investigators later that he had been driving in a fatigued state. Now, the federal agency is being criticized for its delay in pulling Sky Express off the road. Over the past few years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has cited Sky Express for numerous safety violations, including allowing drivers to drive more than 10 hours without a break and speeding. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration needs to get tougher on unsafe bus companies to prevent tragedies like this.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

The MARTA driver, who was operating the bus involved in a dragging accident that left a 62-year-old woman seriously injured, has been involved in bus accidents earlier. The woman, Belinda McMillian has been fired since the accident, but records suggest that she had a history of bad behavior on the job. As an Atlanta personal injury attorney, I have too often seen companies fail to rid themselves of problem drivers.

According to her personnel file which runs into 420 pages, she once crashed her bus into a parked car, causing the car to hit another vehicle. In another incident, her bus clipped the mirror of another parked vehicle. Her personnel report also shows plenty of complaints from passengers about her abusive nature. 

However last Sunday, McMillian outdid herself. The 62-year-old passenger, who uses a walker, had just gotten off the bus and turned around when she realized that she had left her purse on the bus. Her arm got caught in the closing doors of the bus. What happened next was a nightmare for the woman. McMillian continued to operate the bus, driving on, while dragging the elderly woman alongside the bus. The woman was dragged more than 60 feet, before witnesses got McMillian to stop the bus. When the bus stopped, McMillian opened the door at which point the lady fell on the road. Not bothering to check on the lady, McMillian simply drove off from the scene.

McMillian has been fired from her job. A look at her personnel file shows plenty of complaints from passengers about poor driving, obnoxious behavior and rudeness. Beyond history, McMillian's attitude towards an injured elderly passenger being dragged along really is extremely disconcerting.  

There seem to have been many indications that this was a problem employee. Her file lists dozens of complaints. Last year, she had even been placed in a retraining program. We wonder at what point MARTA begins to get really concerned about a problem employee who is a risk to passengers.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents , Elderly | 0 Comments Permalink

A series of fatal and serious bus accidents recently have resulted in new proposals to enhance bus safety for American passengers, and prevent serious accidents. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, this week announced a new set of proposals to minimize the risk of bus crashes. As an Atlanta injury lawyer, I only hope that the proposed regulations are enacted. The regulations then need to be monitored over time and strengthened where necessary. Bus accidents are far more serious than car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents and many truck accidents due to the number of persons who have the potential of suffering personal injuries.

There have been several bus accidents over the past two years that have indicated the need for new safety regulations that can help deal with some of the serious bus safety issues that we currently face.  The new proposals aim to do that. For instance, one of the issues that have bothered Atlanta bus accident attorneys has been the fact that bus companies find it too easy to reappear under a new name and address after one of their vehicles has been involved in a fatal accident. The new rule would create a federal standard that would help determine whether a carrier used to exist under a different name earlier. This would close current loopholes that allow carriers to resurface a few months after a serious accident, under a new name.

The new proposals also make it tougher for commercial drivers to get their licenses. Under the proposals, a driver would need to have a commercial driver’s learner’s permit before he can receive his commercial driver's license. Besides, the federal agency wants to establish a uniform CDL testing standard across the country. 

For the first time, consumers are being included in the loop. The new rules will allow consumers to verify the safety record of the bus company by visiting the FMCSA’s bus safety website. Consumers can look up a carrier’s safety record and other essential information before a journey.

The new rules sound very promising, and do a good job of addressing the safety issues to which Atlanta bus accident lawyers have been drawing attention.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents , Truck Accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

Several school students were injured in a bus accident involving two school buses in Gwinnett County earlier this week. The accident occurred at an intersection where two school buses were stopped. A third bus approached the scene, and rear-ended the second bus. The driver of the third school bus sustained minor injuries, and was taken to the Gwinnett Medical Center. Unfortunately, as an Atlanta injury attorney, I have seen too many bus accidents result in far more serious injures and wrongful death.

There were a total of 38 children on the third bus, and 10 of them suffered back injuries. The students on the other two buses did not suffer any injuries. The driver of the bus has been cited for following too close. The drivers of the other two buses have been suspended temporarily while an investigation into the accident continues.

Atlanta bus accident lawyers will have to wait until investigations are completed to learn why the third bus driver was not able to stop in time to avoid crashing into the other bus. However, it'll probably be worthwhile to probe the role of distractions and inattention as a factor in this crash. School bus drivers have an additional responsibility to be cautious and completely attentive while driving. These buses carry some of our most precious cargo, which makes it all the more important for drivers to be attentive at all times.

Unfortunately, distracted driving has become widespread among the commercial motor vehicle driver population too. More and more cases involving accidents caused by distracted bus and truck drivers are coming to light. It isn't only electronic communication devices like cell phones that are responsible for distractions. A motor vehicle driver could also be distracted by highway signs and billboards, dashboard computers or because he is engaged in other activities, like snacking while driving.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents , Children , Distracted Driving , Wrongful Death | 0 Comments Permalink

Since the Bluffton University bus accident in Atlanta in 2007, Atlanta bus accident attorneys have been calling for greater use of technology to prevent bus accidents and reduce the severity of injuries. It certainly looks like we have been on the right track all along. The National Transportation Safety Board this week said that although technology that could prevent bus accidents exists, federal regulators have failed to act to implement their use. As an Atlanta injury lawyer, I applaud the NTSB’s criticism of federal regulators.

The National Transportation Safety Board comments came as Atlanta bus accident lawyers and bus safety advocates from around the country have been increasing calls for stronger bus safety regulations by the federal legislation. Those calls came in the aftermath of a deadly bus accident in New York in March that resulted in the wrongful death of 15 people. The bus, a low-budget carrier transferring passengers to a casino in Connecticut, was on its way back to Chinatown, when it skidded, flipped over, and crashed into a sign pole. The impact sliced the bus into two, killing 14 passengers almost immediately, while the last passenger died in the hospital a few days later.

This week, the National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersmann had stinging criticism for the bus industry, which that has lagged behind in providing safety to its passengers. Deriding the state of American bus safety, Hersmann said that her minivan came with more advanced safety features than most buses on American roads.

The bus industry could experiment with adaptive cruise control and electronic stability control. Adaptive cruise control can adjust the speed of a bus to prevent accidents, and electronic stability control systems have been available on automobiles for years now. The systems prevent drivers from losing control of the vehicle, especially when he brakes at high speeds on slippery roads. While most new cars have electronic stability control systems, few buses do.

We shouldn't be so surprised at the lack of technology to aid buses, when you consider that many buses in the US don't even come with seat belts - the most basic safety aids there are.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

The driver of a Cobb County Transit bus, which was involved in a serious pedestrian accident last week that left a pedestrian with an amputated leg, has now been charged. Atlanta police have charged the driver, Jean Lewis with failure to yield to a pedestrian on a crosswalk and failure to exercise due care. Of course, pedestrian accidents are more often involve the most serious injuries.

Lewis was driving a Cobb County transit bus when it struck a 54-year-old pedestrian. The bus struck the woman as it was turning left at a light. According to witnesses, the woman apparently saw the bus pulling out of the Hamilton Holmes Marta Station, and tried to walk faster, but she was struck by the rear of the bus, and fell to the ground. She suffered a severe leg and a broken ankle. According to Cobb County Representatives, the driver will be removed from service, pending completion of the investigation.

This pedestrian accident comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports on an increase in pedestrian wrongful deaths around the country. The increase is minimal, just .4%, but it comes after four continuous years of declining pedestrian accident deaths.

What Atlanta pedestrian accident attorneys have found extremely unfortunate is that the blame is often placed on pedestrians for this increase in wrongful deaths. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration squarely blames pedestrians who are distracted while walking, or walking in a state of intoxication, for this increase in pedestrian deaths. Although this may be true at times, many pedestrian accidents occur every year because of failure to yield to pedestrians, especially those who are on crosswalks.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents , Pedestrian accidents , Wrongful Death | 0 Comments Permalink

There’s been yet another tragic school bus accident in McDuffie County, Georgia. This accident resulted in the death of the driver of the school bus. The accident occurred when the bus went out of control and ran into a ditch. The driver was ejected from the bus. She was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries, but died soon after.

The bus had about 10 students. Two of the children suffered serious injuries, and were rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, one of the children who was injured was the driver's own son. The accident apparently occurred on a dirt road just outside of Dearing. The driver seems to have lost control of the bus as it slid off the road. School drivers of the McDuffie County School System are mourning the loss of one of their own.

The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the accident. Some questions are being raised about the condition of the road at the time of the crash.

Our hearts go out to the family of this driver. Not only have they lost a mother and wife, but one of the children is seriously injured and in the hospital.

The year 2010 was a bad year for school bus safety in Georgia. There were a series of bus accidents last year, and some of them ended in fatalities. All of them however underscore to Atlanta bus accident lawyers the importance of redefining school bus safety rules. For instance, some bus accidents that occurred last year have clearly shown the need to have school students restrained in their seats while the bus is in motion. However, we're no closer to mandating seatbelts for school buses. This is in spite of the fact that young children are at a high risk of injuries in any accident, whether it is a school or a passenger vehicle.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 2 Comments Permalink

Georgia State Patrol investigators are investigating a pedestrian accident involving a third-grade boy, who was critically injured in an accident as he was getting into his school bus. The pedestrian accident occurred last Tuesday. As the school bus pulled over, the boy who was waiting at the stop, walked into the road to get on the bus. At that point, he was struck by a pickup truck. The boy was thrown about 50 feet away from the point of impact. He sustained critical injuries, and is being treated at a local hospital.

The driver of the school bus says that he had stopped the bus, and a stop sign was clearly visible at the time of the accident. However, the driver of the pickup truck insists that the bus had not stopped moving when the accident occurred, and the stop sign was not out when his vehicle hit the boy. Neighbors in the area have their own explanation for the accident. They say there's a serious problem with speeding motorists on that stretch of road.

This accident came during the same week as another crash involving a school bus in Barrow County. In that accident, several students were injured when their bus was rear-ended by a Jeep. None of the students were seriously injured.

 Just before classes commenced after the summer vacation, the Atlanta car accident lawyers at our firm had blogged about the need for greater care and caution, now that more numbers of school buses and children could be expected on the road. It seems that our concerns were definitely warranted. We have already had several accidents involving school buses since the fall season began. Earlier this month, a bus accident in Carroll County, killed one student. A few days after that fatal accident, there was another nonfatal accident involving a school bus and a pickup truck. 

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

In the most recent in a string of serious school bus accidents in Georgia, five people have been injured in an accident involving a stopped school bus in Barrow County. The accident occurred on Wednesday. There were 14 students on the bus when the accident occurred. According to witnesses, the bus had its warning lights activated, and was unloading passengers when it was rear-ended by a Jeep. The driver of the Jeep suffered serious injuries, and was rushed to the hospital. Three students on the bus also suffered injuries, and had to taken to the Barrow Regional Medical Center. The students had been standing up at the time of the accident, waiting for their turn to exit the bus. The children reportedly sustained bumps and bruises. The driver also sustained injuries.

According to news reports, the school bus had had its warning lights activated. Moreover, the accident occurred during daylight. Investigators will likely be looking at the reason why the pickup truck driver was unable to stop before he rear-ended the school bus.

Georgia School Bus Accident Claims

Although this accident appears to have been caused by the rear-ending driver, in general, there may be a number of parties that can be named in a lawsuit arising out of a Georgia school bus accident. The school bus driver and the school district  can be named in a claim. However, there may be other external parties that may also be liable. For instance, in an accident caused by a motorist or a commercial vehicle driver, the other driver can be named in a claim. In case of commercial buses, you can have charter companies, tour bus companies, and owners and operators of buses who can be named in a bus accident claim. Companies involved in the maintenance and repairs of the bus, as well as bus manufacturers can be named if the accident is traced to defective or malfunctioning components. 

Failure to include every responsible party in your claim or lawsuit can mean a diminished recovery for injuries caused by an accident, which is why you must consult with an experienced Atlanta bus accident lawyer to help you prepare a claim.

Posted By Robert Katz In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

Fatal Georgia School Bus Accident Reignites Seatbelt Debate

The death of a 17-year-old student in a school bus accident in southern Georgia this week has again raised questions about whether the state needs to make it mandatory for all school buses to come with seatbelts. 

The accident which occurred on Monday afternoon, involved a school bus that overturned on Highway 113. The victim, a 17-year-old boy was ejected from the bus. As the bus rolled over, he came under the bus, and was crushed to death. At least 10 other students on the bus suffered injuries.

Every time there is a school bus accident in Georgia that involves injuries or fatalities, questions are raised about seatbelts and safety. This particular accident is no different. The debate has pitted parents and Atlanta bus accident lawyers against school districts. Many school districts insist that there is no convincing evidence to show that students would be much safer if all buses came equipped with seat belts. 

During an accident, a person who is not wearing a seatbelt can be flung across the interior of the bus, increasing the possibility of injury. He may be ejected from the bus, placing him at serious risk of death. It's difficult to say for certain that in this particular accident, the victim could have been saved if he had been wearing a seatbelt. However, it is highly likely that the victim would still have been restrained in his seat if he had been wearing a seatbelt when the bus flipped over. Witnesses at the scene reported heartrending scenes after the crash, with students piled up on top of each other inside the bus. That could have been avoided if all students had been wearing seatbelts.

Unfortunately, the issue of seatbelts and buses seems to ultimately come down to a question of economics. It is expensive to install seatbelts in all buses, and manufacturers of school buses have been successful in downplaying the risks from vehicles that don't have seatbelts.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 1 Comments Permalink

Feds to Mandate Seatbelts on All Buses

The worst bus accident in Atlanta in recent memory occurred three years ago, when a bus carrying a baseball team from Bluffton University plunged off a highway overpass, killing seven people including five baseball players. Some of those who were killed or injured were ejected from the vehicle, as the bus swung around sharply before it flipped over. Would those statistics have been different if the students were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident? It is quite likely, and if a US Department of Transportation proposal to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches is successful, we might be able to dramatically reduce the number of people seriously injured or killed in bus accidents in the future.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that his agency is considering long-pending proposals by the National Transportation Safety Board, to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches. The NTSB made the recommendations back in 1968, but any attempts at federal and state legislation to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches have been thwarted by the powerful bus manufacturer lobby. The industry has managed to get away with putting thousands of vehicles sans seatbelts out there, and the impact has been seen in a series of deadly bus accidents, from California to Texas.

According to federal data, approximately two-thirds of bus accidents between 1997 and 2008 involved a single vehicle rolling over. Seventy-five percent of the passenger fatalities in these rollovers involved people ejected from the bus. Passengers are at a much higher risk of ejection from a bus when they are not restrained. It shouldn't take super smarts to figure that out, but it has taken federal agencies more than four decades to seriously consider the issue of seatbelts in buses. It's about time that we mandated personal restraint systems in buses that transport thousands of Atlantans every day.

The Atlanta personal injury lawyers at the Katz Law Firm represent injured victims of auto/truck/bus accidents in the metro Atlanta region, and across Georgia.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 1 Comments Permalink

Student Injured in DeKalb County School Bus Accident

News of a school bus accident is enough to cause concern to any Georgian. These vehicles carry some of the most precious cargo, and children may be at serious risk of injuries in these accidents. At least one student has been hospitalized with injuries after an accident involving two DeKalb County school buses this week.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the accident occurred on Monday, when bus number 1794 of the McClendon Elementary School struck bus number 1282 at the Lawrenceville Highway and Interstate 285 intersection. One of the children suffered cuts, and was taken to a hospital. Fortunately, there were no other injuries in the accident. The accident seems to have been caused when bus number 1794 backed up into the other bus.

A bus driver who is speeding, or distracted while driving (In Georgia, school bus drivers are banned from talking on the cell phone - even on a hands free set - or texting on one, while driving the bus) may be named in a claim.

School districts and boards have a responsibility when it comes to hiring and training drivers. These vehicles are entrusted with dozens of young lives, and so, drivers must be free of a history of substance abuse, and have an excellent safety record. Failure to follow proper hiring, training and supervision practices can result in the school board or district being named in a claim.

The Georgia bus accident lawyers at the Katz Law Firm represent injured victims of school bus accidents in Atlanta, and around the state of Georgia. 

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

I came across this interesting report by the Chicago Tribune which elaborated on how one bus manufacturer neglected to inform customers about its defective vehicles for 8 years, while the NHTSA failed to speed up this process.

The bus manufacturer in question is New York-based Transportation Collaborative Inc (TCI). The company recently agreed to inform its customers there are defective parts in its buses that have been recalled. These parts include

·        Unstable seatbacks that could collapse in the event of a crash causing serious injuries

·        Faulty seatbelt anchors that can actually come loose in an accident

·        Defective wheelchair lifts

 Most of these are smaller buses that are typically used by facilities caring for disabled children. There’s worse news - there are as many as 2000 of these defective buses in operation around the country.

The company agreed to notify its customers after the NHTSA scheduled a public hearing to determine if TCI had violated rules requiring it to follow through or repair the recalled parts. The hearing was canceled only after TCI agreed to inform its customers about the parts. The company has been fined $20,000, and has been given time until November 23^rd to inform its customers about the defective buses.

Defective Buses in Operation in Georgia, Could Place Passengers at Accident Risk

At least 5 of those buses are used by Atlanta-based Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Centers, which uses these vehicles to transport children below the age of 4. The Tribune found that the center was not aware that the buses contained defective recalled parts.

Making matters even more serious is the fact that the agency isn’t aware of exactly how many of these buses are operating around the country. The company has not yet given the agency a list of affected buses, and according to the NHTSA, they have not been able to find out who owns the buses, and in which part of the country these buses are currently operating.

Georgia personal injury lawyers have had their safety concerns about the NHTSA for several years now. Every time the agency dithers in its duties, it places occupants of these buses at serious risk of injuries in a crash. As Atlanta bus accident lawyers, we are concerned at how little control the NHTSA seem to have on bus manufacturers, and the amount of time it takes to get these companies to take the basic steps of informing their customers of recalls, and fixing recalled parts. It shouldn’t take 8 years for these steps to be implemented.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

A group of Morehouse College band members were injured on Saturday morning when the bus that was carrying them to a football game in Albany, flipped over on I-75 south in Henry County.

According to Fox News, there were 42 members of the Morehouse College marching band in the bus, which hydroplaned on the wet roads, skidded off the highway and rolled into a ditch. At least 13 of the band members had to be taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries that are not reported to be life threatening. Twenty nine other passengers also had to be taken to hospitals to check on other less serious injuries.

According to Henry County police, the road was slick from recent rains in the area, and that could have played a part in the crash.

There is no information yet on the causes of the accident, but as Georgia bus accident lawyers, we would be very interested to know the speed of the bus at the time of the crash. If the roads were wet as Henry County police say, then the driver had a duty to drive cautiously. Wet roads demand extra careful driving, slowing down speed limits, and greater attention to the road.

Meanwhile, according to new details coming in via CNN, the bus company that owned the bus did not have a permit to operate in Georgia. According to the Georgia Public Service Commission, Superior Transportation Group is not licensed to operate in the state, and according to the PSCs website, the company has one complaint on file for 2008.

The Georgia bus accident lawyers at the Katz Law Firm help injured victims of bus accidents recover their rightful compensation.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

MARTA to Crack Down on Distracted Driving

A series of safety incidents in the past few months that have involved MARTA drivers distracted at the wheel, has had Atlanta personal injury lawyers as well as the agency concerned about the increased risk of accidents from such behaviors. MARTA now plans to stress the safety message to encourage drivers and operators to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel while driving.  

·        Recent footage revealed a MARTA bus driver reading a magazine while stopped at a red light.

·        Another photograph showed yet another bus driver apparently eating lunch while balancing his fork and bowl precariously on his lap while at the wheel.

·        In June, a rider on a MARTA train caught footage on his cell phone of an operator texting while on the job.

All three incidents of distracted driving are being investigated, and MARTA plans to do more to drill home the safety message to its employees.  MARTA Deputy General Manager Dwight Ferrell told the AJC that although the agency, which is in dire financial trouble, has cut back on services, this has had little effect on employee work hours and break times. There is no reason why a driver would need to take a lunch break behind the wheel, he says, and there is absolutely no reason why operators should be texting or reading magazines while operating buses and trains.  

Texting by train operators was at the center of the tragic Metrolink train accident in California last year that killed 25 people. Texting by bus drivers and truckers was also one of the issues that were spotlighted at the recent Distracted Driving Summit in Washington. During the summit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the Obama Administration will seek a ban on texting by bus drivers and truckers, and will place restrictions on the use of cell phones by mass transit employees, including rail operators, bus drivers and truckers. The federal administration has said that it will also seek additional restrictions on cell phone use by school bus drivers. This will include disqualifying school bus drivers convicted of texting while driving from retaining their commercial driving licenses.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

We Have Back to School Safety on Our Minds

Thousands of school children across Georgia will be heading back to school after the summer break, raising concerns about accidents involving kids.

As Georgia personal injury lawyers, we are concerned that the summer traffic lull might lead to a sense of complacency among motorists. As schools reopen, there are going to be a markedly higher number of students walking and bicycling to and from school. There will also be hundreds of school buses, as well as parents picking up and dropping off their kids at crucial times.

• It's important that parents talk to their kids about traffic safety before the school season begins.
• If your child walks to school, try to make sure he walks in a group. Pedestrians in groups are typically safer than those walking alone.
• Teach your child to avoid unknown shortcuts.
• Teach him the basics of crossing the street - only on a designated crosswalk and after looking left, right and left for approaching cars.
• If your child is bicycling to school, make sure he is wearing a helmet.
• Look for safer, quieter routes that may keep him safe from aggressive and impatient motorists.
• Exercise caution while at a school bus stop. An accident just this month in Atlanta killed a 6-yer-old child as she was walking around the front of the bus with her mother. The child was struck by a motorist who illegally passed the bus and sped ahead.
• Parents who intend to pick up and drop off their kids everyday to and from school, must slow down in a school zone. Remember that a school zone, during starting and closing hours, is crowded with other impatient parents, children and general motorists.

Motorists in general, must slow down in a school zone. Look out for children at crosswalks, and intersections, especially in areas that are home to a number of schools. Remember that traffic is now back to normal, and exercise care and caution at all times.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

But for good fortune, it would have been a repeat of the tragic Bluffton bus accident in Atlanta that killed seven people in 2007. A group of students from Michigan escaped serious injuries when their bus driver almost made the same mistake that the Bluffton University bus driver did.

The students who were on their way from Michigan to Orlando were traveling in two buses. The driver of the first bus mistook the exit ramp for a through lane, and just managed to stop in time to avoid a potentially serious crash. It was the exact same mistake that the driver of the bus in which several Bluffton University students had been killed two years ago, had made. The near miss has called into question Georgia Department of Transportation's tardiness in making adequate signage available to warn motorists of the dangerous site. 

According to driver Rick Overtein who narrowly avoided an accident, the ramp is still very "deceiving." Two years after the tragic Bluffton college bus accident, it's obvious that signage warning drivers on the ramp is still insufficient. After the Bluffton accident, the Georgia Department of Transportation had come in for severe criticism, including sharp words from the National Transportation Safety Board for its failure to install proper signage. The Department of Transportation last week began work on updating the HOV exit, where the Bluffton accident occurred, a full two years later. It will be weeks before the overhead signs come up at the site.

To Georgia personal injury lawyers, It isn’t clear why it should take more than two years to correct a defect on a road that was responsible for a deadly bus accident. State agencies are responsible for making sure that highways are safe for use. This includes a well designed road that ensures smooth and safe movement of traffic. From properly functioning lighting to sufficient barriers, signage and smooth road surfaces, motorists deserve to travel on roads that are safe and can help prevent accidents.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

Back in 2007, a bus accident in Atlanta, involving a vehicle carrying baseball players of Bluffton University, Ohio killed seven people on board, including five players, the driver and his wife. That accident was blamed on driver error, as well as the failure of the Georgia Department of Transportation to maintain important traffic safety devices.

A new report by ESPN brings back memories of that tragic accident, and underscores how much at danger our college athletes are when they travel in buses that are operated by companies with a bad safety record. An analysis done by ESPN's Outside the Lines shows that between 2007 and 2008, hundreds of college teams and athletes traveled on buses operated by companies that have frequently failed to comply with federal bus safety standards. During this period, close to 85 Division I universities used charter bus companies that were found to be deficient in at least one federal safety score. Even worse, of these 85 universities, close to 35 were been found to have hired buses from companies that have more serious safety infractions on their record. These companies have what is called a "constitutional rating," meaning that the schools should have been refrained from using the company.

Problems at a number of these bus companies used by colleges and universities included faulty maintenance of the buses. Drivers were found to be less than qualified, and too inexperienced to operate these buses.  Tinkering of log books was found to be widespread. Manipulating log books allows drivers to clock in more number of hours than is permitted, ending up with more money for the driver, but seriously jeopardized safety for the passengers of the bus. Drivers were also allowed to work for several days before undergoing drug and alcohol testing. Other more serious problems included malfunctioning emergency exits.   Studies indicate that bus companies that are found to be deficient in safety scores have a higher incidence of accidents. What's worse is that authorities at colleges, who had used these buses frequently, when contacted by the ESPN team, were simply unaware that the companies had all these violations to their credit. 

With universities trying to cut down costs, more of them are ferrying students by buses rather than airplanes. It's fair to assume that none of these students will be aware of the safety record of the company that operates and owns the bus, or the capability of the driver who's driving it. In short, universities are trusting unsafe companies with the safety and lives of their students, and there can be little excuse for such negligence. Not being aware of a bus company's safety record is hardly an excuse. The safety of athletes who are traveling is the responsibility of the university they are playing for, and it's condemnable that these colleges don’t see it necessary to screen the bus companies they hire thoroughly, before they award a contract. As Atlanta bus accident attorneys, we strongly feel that student safety should be worth much more than this. 

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

Lack of funding is the reason why Clayton County buses are bursting not only with people, but with the potential for a serious accident. According to MARTA, which operates 22 buses through C-TRAN, Clayton County's public transport system, more buses are desperately needed to avoid the overcrowding problem on local buses. The problem is huge, and is getting to the point where a bus is forced to routinely take close to 20 more passengers than it can handle.

MARTA general manager Beverly Scott is concerned enough about the problem to ask for additional funding to address this concern. Apart from at least 6 new buses that will be needed to counter the overcrowding problem, new drivers to operate these as well as additional routes will have to be planned for. On February 17^th at a hearing that included county residents, the Clayton County Commission received an earful of complaints about the dangers they faced traveling on County buses. Besides the road safety issues involved, residents complained that they were frequent fights breaking out on the buses as passengers jostled for space.

MARTA is expecting more than $60 million in federal stimulus money.  However, those expecting the money to be used to expand essential bus services are likely to be disappointed. MARTA expects money to be used for current facilities, including repairs and other projects.

Overcrowding on buses is a bigger safety problem then we may think it is. For instance, fights and threats on a bus when passengers are fighting for even standing space could cause distractions to the driver. As Clayton County personal injury lawyers, we're concerned that an accident involving such a bus also increases the number of injuries on board simply because there were more numbers of people on the bus than should have been there.

It's unfortunate that citizen safety is the first thing to fly out the window as soon as budgeting concerns show up. The overcrowding problem on Clayton County buses is severe enough to take seriously, and lawmakers must make efforts to demarcate funding that will alleviate the problem. It may be difficult, but it can be done if authorities have the stomach for it.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

The crash occurred when the bus driver, traveling southbound on I-75, mistook an HOV exit ramp at Northside Drive for the HOV through lane. The bus was carrying members of Ohio’s Bluffton University baseball team as well as the bus driver and his wife. The driver and his wife were killed in the accident as well as five other team members. All twenty-eight surviving passengers were injured when the bus went off the overhead concrete barrier at Northside Drive and crashed onto the interstate below.

The HOV lanes were added at the time of the summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996. Ten years of traffic accidents at this site show a history of confusing signage for motorists. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) maintains this roadway.

The NTSB on Tuesday expressed frustration with GDOT’s failure to post adequate signage after similar crashes began occurring. In fact, today the confusing signage remains at this exit ramp.

Accident reconstruction revealed the driver to be travelling approximately 65 mph shortly before braking. This would have been ten miles over the speed limit. He did not appear to brake until he entered Northside Drive traffic. He did not appear to have braked in response to one “exit ramp” sign or two “stop ahead” signs. He also did not brake at the stop signs at the top of the exit ramp. 

However, the NTSB criticized the GDOT signage for its failure to include the word “Exit” at the entrance ramp. The two-sign pole originally intended for installation would have included the word “Exit” but DOT officials left it off in an effort to ready the HOV lanes for the summer Olympics. Today, the signage remains although GDOT has installed smaller signage and more pavement markings since the crash. There are six left-hand HOV exit ramps in metro Atlanta currently.

The NTSB recommended the following changes:

The GDOT should:

1. Install left message plaques ½ mile and one mile prior to the exit ramp and on the directional arrow exit for the ramp.
2. Position the pull-through sign for the southbound I-75 HOV lane next to the exit sign on Northside Drive.
3. Install an advisory speed limit sign on the Northside Drive HOV ramp and on other left-side exit ramps throughout the state.
4. Add an “exit” pavement marking paired with an HOV diamond pavement marking on all left HOV interstate exits.

The Federal Highway Administration should:

1. Include in the manual for traffic control devices that HOV-only left exits have “left” message plaques.
2. Require that “exit” direction arrow signs be placed adjacent to pull-through signs at exits with limited sight distance, short ramps, or multiple route choices.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should:

1. Require new motor coaches to have seatbelts or other crash protection systems
2. Require on-board recording systems for all school buses and motor coaches built after January 1, 2003.    

In 1999, the NTSB recommended that the NHTSA adopt several measure to protect occupants of motor coaches. The NTSB has determined that most fatalities occur when occupants are ejected or partially ejected from buses. Passengers in the March 2, 2007 bus crash were killed when they were ejected through side windows and the windshield. 

HOV lanes are a relatively new addition to our interstate highway system. Despite engineering efforts, the fact remains that drivers do not recognize left-hand exits because they are outside of normal driver expectations. Traffic safety engineers and roadway designers did not take into account or failed to significantly appreciate the driver confusion that arises when left-hand exits are added to the interstate highway system. 

Ten years later, traffic accident data suggests that these may be excessively dangerous. Also, more could be done to protect occupants in buses and motor coaches. Whether our state highway department will heed the warnings and recommendations of the NTSB is another matter. The NTSB has no authority to enforce its recommendations.  Often, legal liability does more to change governmental behavior.  

If you or someone you love is seriously injured in an automobile collision or a bus or trucking accident, contact the law firm of Robert N. Katz for a free, private consultation.   

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Bus accidents | 0 Comments Permalink