When Will They Learn

Hi Everyone,

It happened again on 7/4/12 and this time all 24 people on board the bus, including the driver were injured. The bus driver was actually found on the shoulder of I-95 about 150 yards behind the bus. I don't know how he got there. There was another terrible bus accident on I-95 on 3/12/11 that killed 15 people and injured another 18. During the past few years there seems to be an increase in the number of chartered bus/tour bus company accidents between Boston and Washington DC. What disturbs me about these accidents, is that I believe that each and every one of them could have been prevented. I found many similarities between all of the accidents. Once I figured out the similarities, I used my common sense to come up with a solution that would saves lives.

So these are the similarities:

1) All of the accidents occurred on or near the I-95 corridor, between Boston and Washington, D.C.

2) The large majority of the accidents occurred in the early morning hours.

3) Lack of sleep and speed were involved in all.

4) The majority of the accidents happened after the buses left either a Connecticut or New Jersey casino in the early morning hours i.e.: 4:14 am and 4:45 am.

5) The majority of the corporate owners have been cited for safety violations.

So these are my common sense solutions that would save lives:

First of all, why is it so important to have buses leave a casino at 4:00 am? So gamblers can get to work that day? This practice should stop and the last buses should leave at midnight or even earlier. Then tiredness should not be a factor. I am not sure what it is called, but a GPS like unit should be installed in all charter and tour buses, so that the companies can find out which drivers speed and progressive disciplinary action up to and including termination should be either implemented or strictly enforced. Finally, if a company receives a certain number of citations, they should lose their license to operate for a period a time. If the companies still don't get it, their license to operate should be revoked, period, end of story. I don't think any of my solutions will be used any time soon, which is really unfortunate. How many more injuries and deaths have to happen before any real changes are implemented?

Til next week.

Peter