Houston Truck-Bus Accident Leaves Three Injured-Texas Accident Lawyers
Harris County officials are investigating the cause of a truck accident last week that involved a school bus and left three people injured.
According to news reports, the school bus had stopped to pick up a student when a freight truck crashed into the back of the bus. At the time of the crash, there was one special needs student of MacArthur High, a bus aide and a driver inside the bus. The bus was severely damaged. The special needs student, the aide, and the driver of the truck were seriously injured.
From all that we know about this accident, it seems that the bus was stopped at 8 am in the morning with its loading lights on, and yet, the truck failed to stop to avoid rear ending the bus. As Houston truck accident lawyers, we see that rear ending accidents are typically caused by
- High speeds that prevent the driver from slowing down in time to avoid the vehicle
- Fatigue that prevents the driver from seeing the vehicle in front of him
- Distractions
- Malfunctioning brakes
- Drunk driving
Out of these, federal regulations do address the issues of drug and alcohol use by truck drivers, maintenance and repairs of trucks and the driver’s experience and driving abilities. Driver fatigue is another issue that has been gathering momentum over the past few months. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is revising the Hours of Service rules for truck drivers, and we could soon be back to the 10-hour rule that was in place earlier. Longer driving hours expose a trucker to the risk of fatigue and related accident risks.
Besides, the FMCSA has already received recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board which call for mandatory sleep apnea screenings for truck drivers. Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person suffers from disturbances in breathing during sleep. This causes the person to wake up several times during sleep, leading to feelings of tiredness and drowsiness the next day. Truck drivers because of their lifestyles are more prone to obesity, which is one of the risk factors for sleep apnea. Mandatory screenings and treatment programs would address this issue of driver fatigue and prevent accidents.
If you have been involved in a car accident, truck accident, bus accident or motorcycle accident, contact the accident lawyers at The Kahn Law Firm today at 713-226-9900.
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