February 28, 2012

Coach driver acquitted in deaths of 4 passengers

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A bus driver, whose double-decker crashed into a low overpass in upstate New York, was acquitted of homicide charges in the deaths of four passengers, according to the AP.

The driver would have faced up to four years in state prison on each of four counts of criminally negligent homicide. For the full story, click here.

 

 

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  • Jan van Eck[ March 1st, 2012 @ 5:14am ]

    While a welcome result for Mr. Tomaszewski, it cannot be glossed over that this sad case should never have happened. The company dispatched a driver with "limited experience" on an international run. You have to assume that the motivation for this is the industry-wide chronic shortage of personnel. Here the driver is in his fifties, and my guess is that he had some other career, and when that employer collapsed, our man comes to bus driving late in life in order to support his family. This is hardly unusual; the average age of a motorcoach driver is now 61. As these guys retire, the industry will be deploying less-experienced men who have not developed the situational awareness needed to operate such large equipment. Sadly, I predict that more of these incidents will occur. Worse, I see no obvious solution.

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