The National Transportation Safety Board has released its report on the 2022 crash between a tractor-trailer and a bus that killed three people.
In its report, the NTSB recommends stronger state and federal regulations for motor carriers following a report on the fatal collision between in Williamsburg, Virginia.The crash occurred on Dec. 16, 2022 when the semi-truck collided with the rear of the slower-moving bus on Interstate 64. The bus was traveling at 20 to 25 miles per hour in the right lane, while the truck was traveling at 65 to 70 miles per hour with cruise control engaged, according to the NTSB’s report.
The speed limit on I-64 is 70 miles per hour. The NTSB report said truck driver did not brake or take any evasive action as the truck approached the bus. The collision caused the roof and sidewalls of the bus to detach, exposing the occupants. The bus then rotated, crossed the lane, and breached the guardrail. As a result, three bus occupants died, nine occupants and the truck driver sustained serious injuries, and 11 other bus occupants sustained minor injuries.
The NTSB said it determined the truck driver’s lack of response to the slower-moving bus was due to fatigue from excess driving time and lack of sleep opportunity. The truck’s motor carrier, Triton Logistics, created fictitious driver accounts for its vehicles’ electronic logging device systems that allowed drivers to exceed federal hours-of-service regulations and drive while fatigued, according to the NTSB’s findings. The investigation also determined that the bus’s significantly slower speed contributed to the severity of the crash.
As a result of the investigation, the NTSB is issuing six new recommendations and reiterating three previous recommendations. New recommendations include:
- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should strengthen electronic logging device requirements to prevent opportunities for the creation of fake driver accounts
- The Commonwealth of Virginia should offer management safety guidance to new intrastate motor carrier licensees covering license class, drug and alcohol testing, fatigue management, vehicle maintenance, and safe commercial vehicle operation
- Triton Logistics should implement a process to regularly verify the accuracy of drivers’ records of duty, implement a robust fatigue management program, and proactively use onboard inward- and forward-facing video event recording to improve driver training
- The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance should use this crash to educate its members on the importance of safeguarding the electronic logging device system to prevent falsification of information
Reiterated recommendations include:
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should complete the development and application of performance standards for the assessment of forward collision avoidance systems in commercial vehicles. NHTSA should also require that all buses and trucks over 10,000 pounds be equipped with onboard video recorders that record parametric data associated with an event.
- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should provide guidance to motor carriers on the use of onboard video recordings to ensure driver compliance with regulations and safe operations.
The full report on crash investigation is available on the NTSB’s website.
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