Duty Owed by Tour Bus Operators Illustrated by Fatal Accident

October 15, 2010 (Press-News.org) Touring by bus remains a popular, cost-saving means of travel for thousands of Americans. Yet, buses are large and ungainly vehicles that require a good deal of skill to operate. Given the inherent challenges in driving a bus, it is no surprise that operators are subject to standards of training and are expected to exercise the utmost care in providing for passenger safety. However, as a recent catastrophic bus accident illustrates, not all tour bus companies operate within the law, and passengers sometimes have to pay for this negligence with their lives.

The Tierra Santa Inc. Crash

Just a few months ago, a bus operated by Tierra Santa Inc., a company based in Van Nuys, California, was involved in a fatal crash on the outskirts of Phoenix. The bus was traveling from the central Mexican state of Zacatecas to Los Angeles when it hit a pickup and veered onto the left shoulder of the road. The driver then over-corrected in the opposite direction and the bus rolled once before landing on its wheels. At the time of the accident, the bus was carrying 22 passengers. Six of them, two men and four women, were thrown from the bus and killed. The remaining 16 passengers were injured, nine of whom were rushed to area hospitals in critical condition, including an 11-year-old boy.

Unfortunately, bus accidents are not a rarity; passengers can fall victim to a host of problems, including poor driver training, driver fatigue, absent or ill-maintained safety features, or even just reckless driving. But, what makes the Tierra Santa incident especially disturbing is that the bus company had previously been shut down and was operating illegally at the time of the crash. Just three months before the accident, Tierra Santa Inc. was told by the Department of Transportation not to "engage in the interstate transportation of passengers by commercial motor vehicle." The company had a history of safety violations and no federal record of insurance. Tierra Santa was not licensed to carry passengers across state lines, and their buses were stopped and cited three times in the year preceding the crash by state and federal transportation inspectors across the Southwest. It is unclear why the company was allowed to continue operating.

Following an emergency request made in response to the crash by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a court ordered the owner of Tierra Santa Inc. to immediately cease passenger service. The owner, Cayetano Martinez of Los Angeles, has also been prohibited from arranging transportation of passengers with any other motor carrier without valid operating authority from FMCSA.

The Duty to Passengers

The Tierra Santa accident highlights a gross failure of the duty tour bus operators have toward their passengers. By California statute, carriers of persons "must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and must exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill."

Bus operators have a responsibility to:
- Take reasonable steps to protect passengers from harm
- Provide safe vehicles
- Hire qualified employees and provide them with the proper training

Whether a bus operator has met this standard is a fact-intensive, case-by-case inquiry, but it is important to remember that companies in the business of transporting passengers are held to a higher standard than other drivers. A prior history of citations, failing inspections, poor hiring practices, or the failure to perform routine maintenance on vehicles could all indicate an operator has failed to live up to the required standards.

If a tour bus operator breaches the duty owed to passengers, it can open itself up to massive liability. Following proper safety protocols is exceedingly important in the context of operating a bus service, as failures can lead to life-changing injuries or even death, like they did in the Tierra Santa crash. If you or a loved one has been injured in a bus accident, it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible. An experienced personal injury attorney can not only help ensure you get the compensation you deserve; they can also assist you in sending a message to unsafe bus operators that will safeguard future passengers from needless injury.

Article provided by Rosenstock & Azran
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