Sunnyslope Intersection Accident Occurs When School Bus Hits Center Divider
A school bus accident in Sacramento occurred on September 22 when the vehicle struck a center divider. The incident report by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said that the accident happened at the intersection of Sunnyslope and Chandler drives around 3:36 in the afternoon. Sacramento Fire Department emergency responders arrived at the accident scene to check for injuries and determined that a minor injury had occurred. It is unknown whether there were students on board the school bus at the time of the collision.
School Bus Accidents
Overall, school buses are a safe and efficient mode of transportation. There are 450,000 school buses in operation nationwide. The buses carry roughly 23 million children over 4.3 billion miles with a fatality rate of 0.2 fatal episodes per 100 million miles. This can be compared to the 1.5 deaths per 100 million miles traveled by cars, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Nonetheless, over the past decade, 26,000 crashes involving a school bus caused 10 deaths. The greatest number of fatalities were passengers at 75 percent. Twenty-five percent were drivers.
Safety Protocol to Avoid a School Bus Accident
The safety profile enjoyed by school buses is the result of compartmentalization used on bigger vehicles and lap belts provided on smaller ones. In order to achieve compartmentalization, the seats are placed closely together. The seats are strong and have a high back, both of which aid in protecting riders if a school bus accident occurs.
Some critics urge lap belts on large school buses, but authorities say that their use in head-on collisions may lead to abdominal and neck injuries. However, lap belt use in smaller school buses is seen as highly beneficial since it helps prevent ejection. Shoulder/lap belt combos are currently being evaluated on both-size buses. It is essential that students learn how to use the shoulder belt. In cases where they are placed behind the student, injuries can occur. However, if used correctly, they may be life-saving.
Learning Why a School Bus Accident Happens
While the number of fatalities noted above is low, that does not help the parents whose child died. When this happens, families grieve over the loss of life at a young age. Likewise, parents whose child was seriously injured are forced to see their young one miss precious school time and suffer the pain a significant injury can cause.
The parents ask why more precautions were not taken. We do too. Our investigators examine the school bus carefully to see if maintenance is being done in a timely manner, especially if the brakes or tires were partly to blame.
We also examine the bus driver’s history to see if they were previously involved in a similar accident. Further, our investigators interview witnesses to the crash, review the police report and look for defective parts. We leave no stone unturned until we have a full understanding of why the accident occurred.
If the school bus accident was due to negligence on the part of the company that owns the vehicles or the school district, we file a lawsuit against them. If the manufacturer was at fault, we file a product liability lawsuit.
Sacramento School Bus Accident Lawyer
I am Ed Smith, a Sacramento school bus accident lawyer. Our children are precious to us, and a school bus accident can cause serious injuries to those we love. If your child was harmed in an accident caused by negligence, we are here to offer you free and friendly advice on the possibility of filing a claim for compensation.
Contact us at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 to find out whether you can file a claim, what options are available, and have your questions answered. We can also be contacted online.
Information about how my team of injury lawyers and I have helped others over the years is located at the links that follow:
We have helped injured people since 1982 in obtaining fair compensation throughout Northern California for all types of traffic accidents, school bus collisions, wrongful deaths, and more.
It is an honor for us to be members of the groups that follow:
Photo attribution: Image by Peter H from Pixabay
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