Louisiana Truck And Bus Accidents Scrutinized

On a clear June 2009 afternoon, a tractor-trailer crested a small rise on an interstate highway. In the distance, a dozen cars and trucks that had stopped because of a fender-bender were clearly visible. The massive truck never slowed down, plowing into the traffic at 70 miles per hour, riding over three cars, dragging them under its wheels and smashing others before finally coming to a stop. Ten people were killed.

Later, investigators found out the 76-year-old truck driver had slept only about five hours the previous night and had been on the road almost ten hours.

In a March 2010 accident, a speeding bus toppled off an elevated highway and hit a utility pole, peeling off the roof. Fifteen passengers were killed and eighteen injured.

The problem is not so much that truck transportation and big tour buses are unsafe, but that existing regulations are not respected by companies with poor safety records.

Fatalities involving large trucks have dropped significantly, from 5,200 deaths in 2005 to 3,200 in 2009. Big tour buses average about the same fatality rate as airline transport, with about 20 passenger deaths per year.

Despite these good results, as much as a third of all motor vehicle crashes are still due to driver fatigue. While the hours-of-service and rest hours regulations are meant to limit fatigue and drowsiness, enforcement of these rules is patchy at best. The bus industry says the problem isn't that buses are unsafe, but that the government allows companies with poor safety records to continue to operate.

Over half the tour bus fatalities between 1999 and 2009 involved either illegal carriers or carriers with a history of safety problems. The American Bus Association complains that only ten states have an effective bus inspection program.

If you have been involved in a truck or bus crash, contact the Young Firm for a free evaluation of your case.