摘要: |
On August 2, 2016, about 3:18 a.m., a 1998 Van Hool 49-passenger motorcoach, operated by Autobuses Coordinados USA Inc., was traveling north on State Route 99, from Los Angeles to Modesto, California, when it departed the travel lanes to the right, crossed the paved shoulder, struck a W-beam guardrail, and collided with a 14-inch-diameter vertical highway signpost. The motorcoach was occupied by the driver and 24 passengers. The signpost entered the passenger compartment at the stepwell entry area. As the vehicle continued forward, the signpost tore the right (passenger side) sidewall, cargo bays, and roof from the bus body for almost its entire length. Four passengers died, 19 received serious-to-minor injuries, and one was not injured. The bus driver was seriously injured. The crash investigation focused on the following safety issues: driver fatigue, poor safety management controls by Autobuses Coordinados, inadequate federal safety ratings for passenger motor carriers with a pattern of driver and vehicle violations, and the need for highway barrier systems capable of safely redirecting heavy commercial passenger vehicles from point hazards. The NTSB made new safety recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The NTSB also reiterated a recommendation to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), reiterated and reclassified recommendations to the FMCSA and to AASHTO, and reclassified recommendations to the FHWA and to AASHTO. |