The National Transportation Safety Board is convening two days of hearings in Washington, DC today to review whether and progress has been made since the last NTSB hearings regarding truck and bus safety.
The forum will be open to the public. The last such series of public hearings occurred over a decade ago during calendar years 1999 and 2000. The current series of hearings will be chaired by NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt. The focus will be on issues of carrier operations, government oversight and the lack therof, required driver training and licensing, the health of drivers, driver safety records and interestingly updated onboard vehicle safety technologies.
Unfortunately, once again a tragic accident that has taken the lives of several people is the impetus for the hearings. During March 2011 fiftenn bus passengers were killed on I-95 in New York when a bus that was being operated by a company with a long history of safety problems crashed. The horrific crash occurred at 5:30 a.m. while the bus was returning from a gambling trip full of passengers. The initial excuse of the bus driver, no doubt dreamnt up by the company officers and its lawyers, was the claim he was cut off by a truck driver. It turns out the investigation is focusing on his fatigue level at the time of the crash.
Eleven years ago a crash in New Orleans that killed 22 people spurred the last series of public hearings on these important issues. Many critics of the agency are pointing to the fact the reforms previously discussed during those hearings either haven’t been put in place at all or have taken much too long to enact.
The NTSB claims there have been over 400 recommendations set forth to reduce injury and death on American highways from bus and truck accidents. How about action instead of recommendations?
You may view the forum live or by live webcast on the NTSB’s website.
Denena & Points, PC is at the forefront of the battle to bring trucking companies and bus companies to justice for the wrongs. We ACT, we don’t simply recommend. Spend some time here on our site learing about the trucking industry and download a copy of our FREE informational book The Roadmap To Texas 18-Wheeler Claims: What You Must Do Now for more information.
If you have any further questions, comments or thoughts, call the Firm at 877-307-9500. You will speak with one of our Board Certified Trial Lawyers, Chad Points or Tony Denena about these issues.