Commuters on the TARC, children on school buses, sightseers on tour buses, and travelers on motor coaches all rely on mass transit to help them reach their destinations safely.
Whether you rely on bus transportation for convenience, economic reasons, environmental concerns, or out of necessity, you should be able to trust that the companies responsible for your transportation enforce safe policies in hiring, training, supervision, and maintenance.
When a bus is involved in an accident, the sheer number of people involved, including the drivers, passengers, occupants of other vehicles, and pedestrians increases the likelihood that someone will be injured. Often, bus accidents result in dozens of injuries and sometimes, fatalities.
Therefore, if you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, a Louisville bus accident lawyer can help you fight for fair compensation from those whose negligence or recklessness caused or contributed to the accident. To learn more about the steps involved in your injury case, consult with a personal injury attorney in Louisville today.
Common Causes
A bus driver or passenger is far more likely to survive an accident than pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles involved in the crash. The vehicle size that insulates and protects bus passengers is a liability for those struck by a bus.
To some degree, the causes of bus accidents are the same as any car accident. Driver inexperience, driver fatigue, distracted driving, inattention, failure to obey traffic laws, and drug or alcohol impairment are among the many causes of motor vehicle accidents, including bus accidents, in Louisville and a bus accident attorney can help.
However, buses have certain exacerbating elements that are not present in many car crashes. For example, because of a bus’s size, there are issues with blind spots and stopping distance that may not affect the drivers of smaller vehicles. For this reason, adequate driver training is critical.
Bus accident severity increases under the following conditions:
- Drivers under age 25
- Drivers over age 55 (and even more prominently for drivers over age 65)
- Female drivers
- Very high (over 60) and very low (under 20) speed limits
- Intersections
- Inattentive or risky driving behaviors
While risky driving behaviors are far from the most common cause of bus accidents, most drivers involved in bus accidents did not exhibit risky or reckless driving behaviors, compared to a small percent that were accused of serious offenses like DUI, drowsy driving, or speeding. A bus accident attorney in Louisville will be able to help you determine if the driver was behaving in any reckless or risky behavior.
Another factor in bus accidents is appropriate vehicle maintenance. A tire blowout, bad breaks, ineffective windshield wipers, damaged headlights or tail lights, and more can cause serious accidents leading to injury or death.
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Getting Help after a Bus Accident
For those who are injured in an accident involving a TARC bus, a school bus, a tour bus, or a motor coach, it is important to hold those responsible for the injuries accountable. Injured accident victims need and deserve financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering with the help of a Louisville bus accident attorney.
On a broader scale, this enforced accountability can motivate bus companies to develop appropriate practices in hiring, evaluating, and training drivers and inspecting and maintaining vehicles and equipment to ensure the safety of passengers and other vehicle occupants.
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