Buses are involved in accidents here in Indiana and Illinois a lot more often than many people realize. These are commercial buses that are used to take kids to school and back; sports teams to their game; tourists to see the local sites; church buses on church trips; and regular passenger buses transporting people to work or around the town.
Bus crashes are a real danger here in Indiana and Illinois. Consider the following news stories reporting on serious bus crashes in our area (with six of the seven examples happening in the past two months):
1. Peoria Bus Crash: Rollover
Back in January, there was a serious bus accident involving a chartered commercial bus over in Peoria, Illinois. The bus was carrying a minor league hockey team on its way to play the Peoria Rivermen.
The bus crashed and rolled. Responders had to cut open the roof of the bus to get some of the bus crash victims out of the vehicle. Luckily, while two of the bus passengers were seriously hurt, no one died in this bus crash.
2. Gary Bus Crash: Semi-Truck Collision
In May 2017, a commercial medical transport bus collided with a tractor-trailer truck at a Gary intersection. One bus passenger died in the bus accident and another was seriously injured.
3. Decatur Bus Crash: School Bus and Box Truck Accident
Also in May 2017, a school bus collided with a box truck at the intersection of Brush College Road and Mound Road in Decatur. The truck driver was seriously hurt in the bus crash. The bus driver and two bus passengers were hurt and received medical care at the local hospital.
4. Chicago Bus Crash: Head-On Collision with Car
In another recent bus accident, a Chicago city bus crashed into a car during the early morning hours of Sunday, May 7, 2017, in the East Garfield Park area. Reports are that the car was speeding and hit a parked vehicle before slamming into the oncoming bus. Four people died in this bus crash.
5. Greenfield Church Bus Crash: 11 Kids Hurt
In the mid-afternoon of June 16, 2017, a church bus crashed near Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield, Indiana, leaving 11 kids and 2 adults seriously injured. Two other vehicles were involved in the bus crash.
6. Chicago School Bus: Motorcycle Accident
Also in June 2017, several children were hurt in a bus crash when a school bus collided with a motorcycle on South Michigan Avenue in Roseland. The accident happened early that morning as the kids were being transported to school.
7. Indiana Toll Road Bus Crash: Two Semis
Just a couple of weeks ago, on June 23, 2017, a commercial passenger bus crashed into two semi-trucks on the Indiana Toll Road. The bus was filled with tourists on their way to Chicago so they could fly back home to China. As the bus maneuvered through the construction zone on the Indiana Toll Road, it was following one semi-truck as another big rig came up behind it.
That rear semi slammed into the bus, crashing it into the semi-truck in front of it. Reports are that the rear-end driver was driving distracted at the time.
Bus Crash Statistics
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in 2015 there were 872,027 buses registered to be driven in the United States. These are defined as vehicles “designed primarily to transport nine or more persons, including the driver.” (See FMCSA Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts – 2015 Report).
In 2015, FMCSA statistics show that there were 257 fatal bus crashes and 295 people died in bus crashes that year. the FMCSA is also reporting that there is a continued increase in the number of bus crashes in this country.
The rising trend in commercial bus crashes is significant, with as much as a 11% jump from one year to the next. Which means that local, state, and federal authorities are voicing a rising concern for those who ride buses and the rising danger to them of being seriously injured or killed in a bus crash.
We’ve discussed the dangers of a serious bus crash here in Indiana and Illinois before. However, it’s important to return to this issue since it’s clear that the danger not only remains for those of us living and working in Indiana and Illinois – it’s rising. See:
- Bus Crash Dangers in Indiana or Illinois: Serious Injuries and Fatalities in Bus Accidents
- Bus Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: School Bus Crashes and Metro Bus Accidents
- Semi Truck Drivers and Bus Drivers Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol: 25% of Those Tested?
- College Tour Bus Crash in Southern Indiana: Is It Safer to take a Bus?
In our next post, we’ll discuss what the authorities are doing to try and address the danger of severe injury or death in a commercial bus accident.
For now, we all need to be educated and aware of the real danger facing anyone riding a commercial bus, whether for school, church, tourism, travel, or just transportation to work and back. Let’s be careful out there!
