Stirring the Pot:
Responsibility for Bus-on-Bus Crashes Falls on Management

Jim Ellis, Contributing Editor

Bus-bus accidents drive me nuts.  They are distressingly common, deadly serious and completely preventable. 

And did I mention profoundly embarrassing?  A bus-bus crash in front of a school is witnessed by every teacher and student and half the parents in the community.  And even if no student is seriously injured, a chain reaction bus-bus crash on a field trip to the local zoo will definitely lead off the 6 p.m. local news. 

Bus-bus accidents can be broken into three distinct varieties:

•  In the bus loop in front of school

•  On field trips

•  In the bus yard

Let's stick with the first two categories in this column.  Bus yards are hairy enough they deserve their own separate discussion.

In my experience, bus-bus crashes occurring in bus loops are one of the most common types of school bus accidents.  They are caused by a combination of poor defensive driving, rushing and inadequate management oversight.  The failure of otherwise safe bus drivers to drive cautiously in school loops is very strange. I've been in school districts with otherwise model transportation programs where the bus drivers roared out of the school loop every afternoon like the start of the Indy 500.  It's as though bus drivers believe basic physical laws regarding stopping distance, reaction time, brake lag, etc., are suspended on school grounds, so it's OK to tailgate other buses in the bus loop.

Although some supervisors throw up their hands in despair, how bus drivers leave school at afternoon dismissal is entirely management's responsibility.  Letting bus drivers rush out of the bus loop is inexcusable. 

A sub-category of bus-bus accidents in the bus loop results from an unsecured bus rolling into another bus in the lineup.  Bus drivers should be taught from day one of their training to secure the vehicle with the spring or parking brake at every bus stop, including the most hazardous bus stop, on school grounds.  Unsecured buses are a special danger during bus drills when bus drivers may be a little distracted.  Other bus drivers and students have been struck by unsecured buses during drills. 
The second major type of embarrassing and dangerous bus-bus accident is on field trips when buses convoying at highway speed collide with each other because the lead bus had to slow or stop suddenly.  Three-, four- and even five-bus chain reaction crashes have occurred. 

As on school grounds the main cause of these accidents is a bizarre lapse in defensive driving when following another bus.  All CDL drivers should know the importance of leaving at least four seconds behind the vehicle ahead. But more times than I care to count, I've seen several of our beautiful yellow buses traveling on the thruway all packed together within a single four-second window.  If a car ahead brakes suddenly for a construction zone or a deer runs into the road, a tragedy can ensue, particularly at highway speeds. 

I don't think we've addressed bus-bus accidents very well in our industry.  The starting point is tracking them, both at the local and state levels.  Secondly, driver training should specifically and forcefully address the issue (at all levels - pre-service, basic, and refresher).  Finally, supervisors and safety staff should watch like hawks for buses tailgating other buses and should stop treating such incidents like a minor, almost endearing bad habit.

Ellis is the former director of Research & Instructional Design for the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute. He is currently the transportation director for Moravia, N.Y., Central School District and can be reached at elsink@adelphia.net.

Source: School Transportation News, May 2006. All rights reserved.