Lack of truck parking linked to fatal Greyhound accident

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    In Springfield, Illinois, a severe shortage of overnight parking for long-haul truckers at interstate rest stops has become a significant issue and was a major factor in a Greyhound bus accident in 2023, which resulted in the deaths of three individuals, federal regulators reported on Tuesday.

    The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that the crash was influenced by driver fatigue and inadequate company oversight. The incident occurred when a Greyhound bus left Interstate 70, headed towards a rest area near St. Louis, and collided with three semitrailers parked on the ramp shoulder.

    Jennifer Homendy, the Chairperson of the NTSB, stated that the tragic accident, which saw the bus’s right side torn away and left 12 individuals injured, could have been avoided. “Our investigation highlighted a severe lack of safe truck parking and taught us a harsh lesson: unless this critical safety issue is addressed, lives remain in jeopardy on our roads,” she noted.

    While parking on rest stop entrance and exit ramps is prohibited, enforcement is lax due to a deficit in parking spaces for the 13 million trucking rigs traveling across the country. Additionally, federal regulations require electronic monitoring of truckers’ driving hours and rest breaks.

    The board also pinpointed the bus driver’s exhaustion and Greyhound’s inadequate oversight, including its failure to tackle the driver’s “consistent unsafe driving practices.” During the investigation, records indicated that the driver had been involved in four previous accidents, two of which could have been avoided. Furthermore, an electronic system had repeatedly recorded the driver exceeding speed limits.

    A Greyhound representative communicated via email that the company had “fully cooperated with the NTSB from the start of this investigation” but refrained from additional comments due to ongoing legal proceedings.

    On the westbound journey on July 12, 2023, with 22 passengers onboard, the bus entered a rest area near Highland, roughly 32 miles (about 51 kilometers) from St. Louis, at 1:48 a.m. It collided with three trucks parked for the evening.

    Fortunately, none of the truck drivers were injured; however, three passengers on the bus lost their lives, and the driver, along with 11 other passengers, sustained injuries.

    The report further disclosed that the severity of injuries might have been reduced if more passengers had utilized the seatbelts available. A rule mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2019 requires that commercial buses have seatbelts for both drivers and passengers. Additionally, Illinois law mandates the use of seatbelts.