Every day in the United States, people receive the distressing news that a bus accident has occurred in their community. Despite the fact that buses often carry some of our society’s most vulnerable members, such as children and the elderly, bus accidents are an all-too-common occurrence. This is especially true in California, where a huge fleet of buses is always on the road to support schools, tourism, and a wide range of other private and public interests.
Bus Accidents by The Numbers
The most recent data available from the United States Department of Transportation shows that an average of 55,000 bus crashes occurs throughout the nation every year. On average, more than 240 of these bus accidents lead to fatalities and more than 11,000 of these crashes lead to injuries. School buses and transit buses (such as those operated by Big Blue Bus and other municipal lines) are involved in the majority of bus crashes and fatal accidents.
The effects of bus crashes are not restricted to bus drivers and their passengers. Non-motorists – including pedestrians and bicyclists/pedal cyclists – account for approximately 30% of all bus-related fatalities every year.
Our Bus Accident Blog Posts
As previously mentioned, a significant portion of all bus accidents occurs in California. We have previously covered some of these incidents on our blog:
- Blythe bus accident kills four: Reporting on a bus accident on Freeway 10 in May 2014.
- 50 injured in freeway bus crash: A recap of an August 2013 bus crash on the 210 Freeway in Irwindale that injured 50 people.
- New information surfaces on Yucaipa tour bus crash: Covering the Scapadas Magicas accident in Southern California that killed 7 people. The company had received 22 safety violation notices in the year prior to the accident.
- LA tour bus crashes outside of Tulare: A recap of an early 2014 bus crash on Highway 99 that injured almost half of the passengers on the Fronteras Del Norte bus.
We have also written about other fatal bus accidents, the extensive bus accident investigation process, and how inclement weather has been blamed for many recent bus crashes.