National
Transportation Safety Board
Highway Accident Report
PB83-916203
NTSB/HAR-83/03
Report date: September 20, 1983
Jonesboro
School District school bus run-off road and overturn, on State Highway
214 at State Highway 18 near Newport, Arkansas March 25, 1983
SYNOPSIS
About
5:40 a.m. on March 25, 1983, a Jonesboro School district school bus
was traveling westbound on State Highway 214 near Newport, Arkansas.
The school bus was transporting 31 high school students and 7 teachers
from Jonesboro, Arkansas, to the Annual State Skills Olympics for vocational-technical
students in Little Rock, Arkansas. As the school bus traveled through
a relatively sharp right curve leading to a T-intersection with State
Highway 18, it slid across the centerline onto the opposing lane's shoulder
and through a stop sign; it continued to yaw and slide across Highway
18, where it overturned and struck the far edge of a roadside drainage
ditch. The teacher-driver, 4 other teachers, and 4 students were killed,
and 2 teachers and 27 students were injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines
that the probable cause of this accident was the driver's failure to
slow the school bus to a proper speed for negotiating a curve that led
to a T-intersection with a stop sign and that had advance "curve" and
"stop ahead" warning signs and an advisory speed sign. Contributing
to the accident were the deficiencies of the intersection and signing
system, and the lack of reporting of a large number of low severity
accidents and incidents at the curve that would have effectively alerted
the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department of deficiencies in
the intersection design and signing system.
PROBABLE
CAUSE
The
National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause
of this accident was the driver's failure to slow the school bus to
a proper speed for negotiating a curve that led to a T-intersection
with a stop sign and that had advance "curve" and "stop ahead" warning
signs and an advisory speed sign. Contributing to the accident were
the deficiencies of the intersection design and signing system, and
the lack of reporting of a large number of low severity accidents and
incidents at the curve that would have alerted the Arkansas Highway
and Transportation Department of deficiencies in the intersection design
and signing system.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As a
result of its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation
Safety Board recommended that:
--the
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department:
Revise
the ball bank indicator readings used to select and post advisory speeds
for curves to conform to the guidelines published by the American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials. (Class II, Priority Action)
(H-83-42)
Determine
if the design of the rumble strips installed at the approach to the
curve on state Highway 214 has created a hazard because of traffic maneuvering
into the opposing traffic lane to avoid the rumble strips, and take
action to correct the problem if it is determined that a hazard exists.
(Class II, Priority Action) (H-83-43)
--the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Include
in Highway Safety Program Standard (HSPS) 17--Pupil Transportation Safety
and in the "Program Manual" for HSPS 17 the requirement that the States
institute quality control procedures for school bus repairs to determine
if needed repairs have been performed adequately or if major repairs
are required. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-83-44)
Include
in the "Program Manual" of Highway Safety Program Standard 17--Pupil
Transportation Safety:
1. Specific,
well-defined qualifications for hiring school bus mechanics;
2. Specific
skill areas for school bus mechanics for which certification of proficiency
is required;
3. A
bibliography of available courses which can be attended or course curricula
which can be used as an example to obtain certification of proficiency
in the required skill areas;
4. A
requirement to institute and enforce procedures to prevent school activity
groups from organizing, beginning, or continuing trips in mechanically
unsafe vehicles; and
5. Requirements
to place fire extinguishers at the front and rear of school buses, post
signs in school buses on the location and use of emergency equipment,
and brief passengers on the location and use of emergency equipment,
both periodically and before beginning activity trips. (Class II, Priority
Action) (H-83-45)
--all
States and the District of Columbia;
Upgrade
the quality of school bus inspection and repair by examining and revising,
as required, the qualifications and training of and facilities for inspectors
and mechanics and by instituting quality control procedures to determine
if needed repairs have been performed adequately of if major repairs
are required. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-83-46)
Institute
and enforce procedures to prevent activity groups and drivers from organizing,
beginning, or continuing trips in mechanically unsafe vehicles. (Class
II, Priority Action) (H-83-47)
Place
fire extinguishers at the front and rear of school buses, post signs
in school buses on the location and use of emergency equipment, and
brief passengers on the location and use of emergency equipment, both
periodically and before beginning activity trips. (Class II, Priority
Action) (H-83-48)
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