Mass transit systems are among some of the safest modes of transportation in California. While crashes involving buses and trains may happen less frequently than crashes involving cars, the damage that can be done if and when these large vehicles are involved in an accident can be catastrophic.
One accident involving a bus and multiple victims is bad enough. But when a second accident very similar in nature to the first happens just days later, questions should be asked regarding whether or not there is a larger issue of safety to consider. Authorities in California may be raising these questions now that there have been two very serious accidents involving tour buses traveling to casinos just 10 days apart.
According to reports, the first accident happened when dozens of people boarded a bus headed to San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino. As the bus drove on Interstate 210, the bus driver lost control of the vehicle after making an unsafe lane change and crashed into another vehicle. There were more than 50 people injured in the crash.
Just 10 days later, another bus carrying 18 people crashed on a trip to a casino in northern San Diego. The brakes had malfunctioned on the bus and the driver was unable to slow the vehicle down as it navigated a sharp turn. The bus crashed into a guardrail and 10 people suffered serious injuries.
The fact that both accidents involved buses traveling to casinos in Southern California has raised some eyebrows. Are there larger factors at play in these crashes? As authorities investigate these accidents, there may be reason to suspect that there are issues with training bus drivers or maintaining safe vehicles. The fact that both tour buses were headed to Indian casinos at the time of the accidents may also be an area worth exploring.
Not only could a thorough investigation into these crashes help identify widespread issues that may be putting other passengers in danger, but it could help the victims who have already been hurt in these accidents. Determining what factors contributed to an accident can help victims identify any negligence in order to pursue compensation for damages.
Source: The Huffington Post, “California Bus Crash: 10 Injured On Tour Bus Headed To Casino,” Sept. 2, 2013
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