Everybody thinks that buses, by and large, are governed by the same sets of standards. Believe it or not, they are not.
Weak standards and materials cause preventable deaths and catastrophic injuries.
For example, the side panel structure of the bus in which 4 female college students were killed was made out of tubing similar to that used for lawn furniture.
Todd Tracy reached an out-of-court for the families of three victims that he represented.
Buses like this carry thousands of passengers: on casino trips; students on field trips, band trips, and to athletic events; and airport shuttle buses.
Tour Bus Accident – Shocking Evidence of Safety Problems
Automotive engineers found shocking evidence of safety problems under the skin of the bus in the Tracy Law Firm’s Crash Lab.
There is a different set of rules for motor coaches. There is a different set of rules for school buses. There is a different set of rules for shuttle buses. And there’s a different set of rules for buses that look like school buses, that are used as school buses, but if they aren’t over a certain weight, they aren’t categorized as school buses.
Why is it important to understand the distinction and the difference between what kind of bus it is? Because there are different safety standards in play for a motorcoach that do not apply to a shuttle bus.
For example, a shuttle bus or a bus that’s used to transport children to and from school that weighs under 22,000 pounds does not have to be built to tougher safety standards.
All buses are not created equal, and that that’s a crime actually. It doesn’t matter if you’re a school-age child, a college student, an adult riding on a shuttle bus in between the airport and a rental car company, or you’re a senior citizen riding on a motorcoach to a casino.
You should be protected equally, and the bus manufacturers should protect every one of their occupants equally. All buses should be made of corrugated metal that’s rigid and strong. All buses should be equipped with lap and shoulder belts so that the occupants will be protected in bus accident front-end collisions, side-impact accidents, rollover accidents, and rear-end collisions.
Tens of thousands of parents sent their children to the school bus stop every day. This video by Todd Tracy should be made required viewing for school administrators and school boards before they put another child at risk on a school bus.