
Over $78 million in verdicts and settlements in 19 years.
Bus Crashes
Who is responsible for your injuries in a bus accident?
Large, passenger-carrying buses are considered motor carriers and are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). FMCSA provides data and statistics on commercial bus crashes.
- In 2023, there were 14,986 bus crashes nationwide resulting in 241 fatalities and 13,932 injuries.
- Oregon had 136 commercial bus crashes in 2023, with 4 fatalities and 62 injuries.
- 5 killed in TriMet crashes in 2023, deadliest year in nearly a decade
In Portland, Trimet is a municipal corporation of the state of Oregon and Trimet accidents fall under the Oregon Tort Claims Act.
TriMet has their own crash advisory committee under Oregon revised statute 267.480 which must include a wide variety of people with specific backgrounds.
(a) One member who is an expert in transportation safety engineering, design or planning, including the efforts by the City of Portland to eliminate transportation-related deaths and serious injuries in Portland. (b) One member who is an advocate for public transportation. (c) One member who is an advocate for pedestrians or bicyclists. (d) One member who is an advocate for transportation safety. (e) One member who is an advocate for elderly persons or persons with disabilities. (f) One member who is a state or local government official with responsibilities for transportation infrastructure or safety. (g) One member who is on TriMet's board of directors.
When they say that 2023 was TriMet's worst year in over a decade, they are referring to one of Trimet's worst bus crashes ever which occurred in 2010. The 2010 crash was a terrible tragedy with 5 family members being hit by a Trimet bus while crossing a street in a crosswalk in Old Town NW Portland. In addition to the families' lawsuit against TriMet, they also had a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the bus for a blind spot caused by the driver side mirror which interfered with the driver's line of site and ability to see pedestrians who had the right-of-way, and the driver was also making an illegal left turn.
TriMet and its bus manufacturer have agreed to pay $4 million to five plaintiffs stemming from an April 2010 crash in which a TriMet bus struck a group of pedestrians, killing two women [... the driver was ] cited for six misdemeanor traffic violations for not yielding the right-of-way and for making an illegal left turn from NW Glisan onto Broadway
Oregon Charter Bus Crashes
The proper defendants must be identified and could have mutliple variables. For example, if the accident is blamed on faulty maintenance of the bus such as a brake failure, and the bus maintenance was contracted out to a separate bus maintenance company and not done by the bus owner, there may be several responsible parties to name in your injury claim.
One of the worst charter bus crashes in Oregon 9 people died and 39 people were injured and transported to the hospital when a Charter Bus crashed on I-84 east of Pendleton
The terrible crash occured in the winter on a notorius stretch of an icy interstate 84 known as Cabbage Hill Deadman Pass which is an especially dangerous stretch of highway especially in winter weather. This was a horrific crash for the passengers and it took a huge effort by the first responders to rescue the passengers down an icy cliff over 200 feet down from the interstate. The passengers were also foreign so language and translations as well as identifying everyone on the bus was a challenge for all.
This charter bus crash resulted in a $700 million lawsuit - passengers said the tour operators were negligent and the bus driver was overly fatigued:
PENDLETON, Oregon (AP) - A British Columbia lawyer representing 12 victims from the 2012 charter bus crash on Interstate 84 near Pendleton filed a lawsuit Monday at the Umatilla County Courthouse seeking $700 million.
The East Oregonian reports the group is seeking a jury trial on accusations that tour operators were negligent.
The lawsuit also accused Oregon and the state Transportation Department or failing to make an icy stretch of the interstate safe and failing to erect barriers to keep the bus from going over a cliff.
The tour bus company blamed the black ice and claimed the bus driver had plenty of rest but the Federal Department of Transportation did pull the company's registration to operate in the USA.
In another lawsuit, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) was also named as a defendant for inadequate guardrails that failed to stop the bus from careening down the cliff, failure to plow, sand and deice the road, failing to warn vehicles of the hazardous conditions and failure to detour vehicles with an alternate route. [ODOT named in suit filed in connection with tour bus crash last December April 08, 2013]
Oregon and the agency are also plaintiffs in a separate, $10 million lawsuit filed by a survivor and the estates of three of the dead. Mi Joo Tour & Travel is a defendant in that lawsuit. The federal Department of Transportation in January yanked the company's registration to operate in the United States. Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus has said he's working with state and federal agencies and is still considering whether to seek charges in the crash.
In 2019 a bus carrying Oregon National Guard troops crashed off of highway 101 near Manzanita
Passengers said the driver was distracted and frequently looking and operating his cell phone.
After the crash the Oregon State Police were testing the driver for substances possibly driving under the influence. This incident could have had a much worse ending, but luckily no one was injured.
According to OSP, the passengers grew concerned due to Alexander's use of his cell phone. He was also showing signs of impairment as he lost control of the bus and crashed into a sidewalk in the city of Manzanita.
Oregon School Buses
For the most part, kids are safer on the school bus than they are getting to the bus stop, crossing streets, boarding and deboarding school buses.
In June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published its latest Traffic Safety Facts, which includes School-Transportation Related Crashes from 2012 to 2021. The agency reported on similar findings, stating that there was 1.6 times more fatalities among pedestrians (183) than occupants of school transportation vehicles (113) during the period studied. Out of the 113 occupants killed in school transportation vehicles, 52 were drivers and 61 were passengers.
When looking at the 206 school-age children who died in school transportation related crashes from 2012-2021, NHTSA stated that 42 were occupants of school transportation vehicles, 80 were occupants of other vehicles, 78 were pedestrians, five were bicyclists, and one was described as "other."
Safe Routes to School is an organization that is all about kids getting to school safely.
Safe Routes to School helps organize and find funding. They even have events, training, and more resources.
In Oregon, we are fortunate to have bike buses and even walking buses to help get kids to school safely while also getting in some exercise. The Bike Bus Bill was signed and is now law in Oregon and it allows schools to use transportation funds for alternative transportation for organized bike buses and walking buses.
The Coach Balto Bike Bus is such a joyous group of kids, it has gotten a huge following and was featured on NBC Nightly News:
Portland Walking Buses will be growing in numbers
The idea is that every student who lives inside the busing radius will have a scheduled, adult-supported trip to school they can count on. The vision is to have clearly identified routes, meeting sites, and pickup times. The adult chaperone will walk the route and lead the group while teaching the kids basic walking safety tips along the way. Being able to pay these chaperones is a core tenant of Oregon Walks' program. "Staffing the chaperones with paid members of the community makes this a professionalized transportation team," Etter said.
And the Portland Walk and Roll Bus programs are going to get bigger with another new Federal grant for North Portland of $1.1 Million
The grant will allow Metro to pay adult leaders at elementary schools to to establish weekly walking school buses and bike buses. There will also be monthly events to bolster the programs and encourage participation. Two elementary schools in the program will receive "learn to ride" education and teachers will receive training on bike and pedestrian safety.
According to the data, Oregon is one of the safest states for school buses.
These are some of the facts:
While school buses remain one of the safest modes of transportation for students, it is estimated that 108 people are killed and 13,200 are injured in school bus accidents each year.
According to data collected from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), between 2013 and 2022, school bus crashes resulted in approximately 132,000 injuries. There were also 976 fatal school bus accidents resulting in 1,082 deaths.
School buses for the most part do not have seatbelts in the USA - there are some exceptions.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) does recommend that states require passenger lap and shoulder belts on large school buses.
The NTSB is renewing its 2018 recommendation that states require passenger lap and shoulder belts on new, large school buses as well as its call to require systems that prevent lane departure on heavy vehicles, first issued in 2010 and updated in 2021. All recommendations remain open. "This case is a gut-wrenching reminder that failure to act on our recommendations can lead to unimaginable — and preventable — tragedy," said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. "School buses are often praised for their safety record, but we've become complacent. Children's lives are at stake. The time to act is now."
Sadly, we do see plenty of school bus crashes in Oregon. We all want the kids to be safe so these are especially worrisome.
The below example where, "A bus carrying students crashed on Highway 6 during a field trip to the coast. Half a dozen passengers were hospitalized."
- November 16, 2023 Several La Pine HS students injured in Wednesday morning school bus crash
- March 22, 2024 SUV hits school bus carrying 14 Baker Co. FFA youth on Hwy. 126 in Redmond; 3 minor injuries, driver charged with DUII