Fatal school bus crash leads to U.S. NTSB safety recommendations

Houston school bus injury lawyers note that you might recall news of a fatal school bus crash with a truck near Gray Summit, MO in August 2010. Two school buses carrying students to a MO amusement park were involved in a multi-vehicle chain reaction wreck after a distracted driver crashed his GMC pickup truck into the rear of a Volvo semi truck. The Volvo tractor-trailer had slowed to stop within a line of vehicles as it entered a construction zone on I-44. Then the two school buses behind the GMC crashed into both the pickup truck and the Volvo semi truck. The driver of the GMC pickup truck and a 16-year-old student on the leading bus died in the crash.

Outcries and concerns stemming from the high profile school bus crash led the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to undertake an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the fatal wreck. Our Houston school bus injury lawyers point out that the NTSB investigation found several contributing factors to the fatal accident:

• Driver distraction in the GMC pickup driver;
• Possible distraction in at least one of the school bus drivers;
• The school buses were following too closely, not maintaining safe distances between vehicles; and
• Problems with the school bus braking systems.

Following the fatal school bus accident and its investigation of the incident, the NTSB made a number of recommendations to the NASDPTS (National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services). The NTSB recommended that members of NASDPTS and the National School Transportation Association receive information on the circumstances of the fatal Gray Summit school bus crash and that safety discussions focus on driver solutions, vehicle inspections and technology, and pre-trip evacuations.

The NASDPTS has responded to the NTSB recommendations with a letter adopting the NTSB recommendations and outlining steps to inform the school transportation industry of the necessary safety and training lesson learned from the fatal Gray Summit school bus crash.

The Houston school bus injury lawyers at Denena & Points remark that the safety lessons learned from the tragic Gray Summit school bus crash show promise to benefit the entire U.S. student transportation industry. Although lives were needlessly lost in the Gray Summit crash, those lost lives may now result in the saving of many other lives. Learn more about what to do in the event of a dangerous school bus crash with a truck by downloading our free book on the steps you can take to protect yourself and your family following a semi crash injury.