National
Transportation Safety Board
Highway Accident Report
NTSB/HAR-89/02
Report date: August 28, 1987
Collision
of Levy County, Florida school bus and Airdrome Tire Centers, Inc. truck
near Bronson, Florida, August 28, 1987
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
On
August 28, 1987, a 1982 school bus carrying 21 passengers was traveling
westbound on Levy County (Florida) Road C-32 when it collided with a
two-axle flatbed truck traveling northbound on Levy County Road C-337
near Bronson, Florida. The school bus driver and 5 passengers died;
the truck driver sustained critical injuries and 16 school bus passengers
were injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines
that the probable cause of this accident was the truck driver's failure,
for undetermined reason, to stop his vehicle at the stop sign. Contributing
to the severity of this accident was the loss of structural integrity
of the school bus due to the collapse of the school bus floor.
The
safety issues discussed in the report include:
* The
crashworthiness of the Thomas Built school bus body, particularly the
floor; and
* Deficiencies
of the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) applicable to the
floor joints of large school buses.
As a
result of its investigation, the Safety Board classified three safety
recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
as "Closed--Superseded" and issued a new safety recommendation regarding
FMVSS. The Safety Board also issued a safety recommendation to Florida
concerning the assignment of point to driving violation conviction records
of Florida-licensed drivers.
PROBABLE
CAUSE
The
National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause
of this accident was the truckdriver's failure, for undetermined reasons,
to stop his vehicle at the stop sign. Contributing to the severity of
this accident was the speed of the truck and the loss of structural
integrity of the school bus because of the collapse of the school bus
floor.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As a
result of its investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board
made the following safety recommendations:
-- to
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Expedite
the process of amending Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
221 to make clear that all floor joints are subject to FMVSS 221, to
remove that apparent anomaly caused by subsection S5 (Strength Requirements),
and to make tests for compliance with the standard more reflective of
the type of loadings experienced by the floor joints in actual crashes.
(Class II, Priority Action) (H-89-20)
--to
the governor and the legislative leaders of the Florida General Assembly:
Amend
the Florida Statutes to assess the full number of driving points when
a Florida-licensed driver is convicted of a driving violation out of
state or in a Federal court. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-89-21)
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