Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog
Many people from Boston enjoy spending a day or two in New York City. One of the cheapest ways to get there is by bus. By now, everyone knows about the bus that goes from Chinatown Boston to NYC for around 20 dollars. To compete with this, national motor coach operators have begun also offering low price fares between the two cities with busses leaving from South Station in Boston.
However, a recent news article from WABE reports one of these double decker busses has crashed, resulting in more than 20 passengers being injured. Authorities state that a bus traveling from Chicago to Atlanta rolled over onto its side while driving at highway speeds. Less than two months earlier, another bus operated by the same company on the same route also crashed, resulting in more than a dozen injuries. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the accident, but it is believed that weather conditions played a role in the incident.
As our Boston bus accident lawyers understand, around 700,000 people travel on commercial busses each year, which is the same number as those flying on domestic airlines. Of these 700,000 riders, there are about 8,000 incidents of personal injury and around 20 deaths each year resulting from bus crashes.
When we hear that weather conditions may have caused a particular car or bus accident, we may be inclined to believe there was no negligence involved, and the accident was not anyone’s fault. However, while weather can a play a role in an accident, it is often a driver’s negligent response to the weather that is responsible for an accident.
For example, if two or more busses from one company are traveling in a line, as is often the case with large group trips, and the busses run into heavy fog, it may be difficult to see very far beyond the front window. In this situation, a driver might decide to tailgate the bus in front of him, so he can see the break lights, thinking this is safer. In reality, this could not be further from reality. Tailgating in fog is extremely dangerous and has resulted in fatal bus accidents. If the lead bus abruptly stops or shifts, the tailgating bus may crash into the first bus, causing a serious motor vehicle accident.
If you are in a bus accident, you generally do not have to worry about calling the police, because the driver is required by law to inform his supervisor and call the police. However, it is important to get the names and contact information of as many people on the bus as possible. The police officer may not take the time to get everyone’s information. If the accident happens in a city on a transit bus, many people will leave before the police get there. Having the names and contact information for other passengers will be extremely helpful when trying to find witnesses to testify at trial.
If you are injured in an accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment: (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Why Do Boston Drivers Hit and Run? July 3, 2014, Boston Car Accident Lawyers Blog