When Bus Accidents Happen

Public transportation is a great invention, and it provides many benefits to society, especially in urban areas. Traveling by bus is convenient, economical, and efficient, and many thousands of people do it every day in the towns and cities of New Mexico. The other side of the coin is that buses are large, bulky vehicles with poor visibility, and they are simply difficult to drive. The passengers of a bus can face great danger from these among other situations:

• Bus drivers fail to observe strict safety protocols

• Drivers allow themselves to be distracted while driving

• Drivers stop on busy streets without using proper signaling

• Maintenance fails to keep buses in good repair, creating the opportunity for malfunctions

• Bus manufacturers sell vehicles with faulty equipment on board

As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong, from the building of a bus to driving it down a busy downtown street full of passengers. In addition, most buses lack the safety precautions that standard cars have, such as safety belts and airbags.

Kinds of Bus Accidents

Different types of buses are prone to different kinds of accidents.

• Public transportation buses in urban areas often experience “fender benders” with other vehicles on the crowded streets. These minor bumps can still cause injury to passengers, who have little or no restraint from safety belts. Back and neck injuries are common.

• Charter and tour buses that travel cross-country become very dangerous when their drivers do not get enough sleep. Pressure to meet time deadlines and the temptation to make extra money by driving too many consecutive hours causes long-distance bus drivers to drive too long and risk falling asleep at the wheel. The resulting crashes frequently make news headlines, and injuries range from bumps and bruises to wrongful death.

• School bus drivers can easily become distracted by the activity of children on the bus. New tracking technology such as GPS has shown that many school bus drivers exceed speed limits and fail to follow safe driving practices, placing children’s lives in danger.

Justice in Bus Accidents

Whatever the injury, victims of bus accidents usually must turn to a personal injury lawyer in order to get a fair compensation for their recovery costs. Insurance companies have many tactics for making it appear that minor injuries are unrelated to bus accidents, and even in clear-cut cases, they attempt to find loopholes that will excuse them from paying victims what they deserve.

When you choose to entrust your case to Killian Davis Richter & Mayle, you can count on:

• A long history of experience practicing law in the New Mexico court system

• Determination to fight for your rights

• A thorough knowledge of liability law and how it applies in your case

• Negotiation skills to bring your case to a fast conclusion