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Category: Bus Accidents

What To Do If Your Child Is Injured In An Alabama School Bus Accident

Sep 30, 2021 - Bus Accidents by

According to the United States Department of Transportation, riding the bus to school is 70 times safer than traveling by car. Even so, school bus accidents do occur, with 126 occupants killed while riding school transportation from 2010-2019. If you are a parent or guardian whose child has been injured in a school bus accident, you need to know how to protect your child’s right to recover the compensation they are owed. Our Tuscaloosa auto accident attorney explains below. 

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Tuscaloosa School Bus Safety an Important Back-to-School Lesson

Aug 31, 2012 - Bus Accidents by

Schools are back in session across Alabama this week — and that means a return of big yellow school buses to a road near you. Tuscaloosa school bus accidents are often the result of impatient motorists. A large number of accidents are also pedestrian accidents that occur near a bus stop or in residential areas where students are walking to meet the bus. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that there were more than 363,000 fatal school-transportation accidents in the last decade. Alabama’s School Bus Stop Law was updated in 2006. The law requires a vehicle overtaking a bus from either direction to stop when the bus is stopped to pick up or drop off children. Drivers on a divided highway need not stop when traveling in the opposite direction. A first offense is punishable by a $400 fine. A second violation can result in a driver’s license suspension and 100 hours of community service.

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ADOT Has Bus Safety in Focus this August

Aug 15, 2012 - Bus Accidents by

The Alabama Department of Public Safety will be conducting passenger-carrier safety inspections this week as part of the National Passenger Carrier Strike Force Initiative. The Huntsville Times reported the national initiative sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration runs though Aug. 27. Whether you are choosing a motor coach for summer vacation, or teaching your child school bus safety, Alabama bus accident attorneys understand fall is a dangerous time for accidents involving passenger carrier vehicles. Several high-profile bus accidents recently, including two fatal accidents this month in Illinois, have the safety of discount passenger carriers making news once again. The rise of discount carriers has increased the risk of busing accidents. Many of these operators save on overhead by offering curbside pickup, rather than providing terminals for passengers. However, the National Transportation Safety Board reports these curbside companies have an accident rate 7 times higher than traditional terminal carriers.

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Alabama Bus Accidents Can be Complex: Lyons v. Lancer

May 27, 2012 - Bus Accidents by

More often than not, personal injury lawsuits last several years. However, a recent Second Circuit Court of Appeals case was decided regarding a 1989 bus accident. If you are involved in a car accident in Tuscaloosa, it is important to have the guidance of an experienced Tuscaloosa injury attorney. Lyons v. Lancer insurance Company deals with the complex areas of personal injury lawsuits. The case arose in 1989 when a school bus driver, Michael Thomas (Thomas), collided with a passenger vehicle being driven by Mr. Lyons (plaintiff). Thomas was employed with T.F.D. Bus Company (TFD), a commercial transportation company based out of New York. The majority of TFD’s business came from their school bus services for children. The school buses in the TFD fleet were also used on occasion to transport small parties for day trips.

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School Bus Accident in Alabama Sends 20 Students to Hospital

Jan 30, 2012 - Bus Accidents by

A recent school bus accident in southeast Alabama sent 20 students to local hospitals. According to The Washington Post, the bus accident happened just after 7:00 a.m. as the bus made its way to Goshen’s Elementary and Goshen’s High Schools. On the school bus at the time of the accident were 40 students. Twenty-one were transported to ambulances to local hospitals and Troy and Luverne. Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas says that the weather contributed to the accidents. He says that weather conditions were poor and it was raining hard when the bus flipped. Still, an official cause of the accident has yet to be released by authorities. Some reports indicate that the rear tire of the school bus left the roadways shortly before it overturned. “It’s just an unfortunate accident. Right now we’re focusing on providing support to the students and their parents,” said Dr. Mark Bazzell, the superintendent of Pike County Schools. Our Alabama school bus accident lawyers understand that there are about 9 billion school bus trips that are made every year. Less than 450,000 school buses make these 9 billion trips. On these trips are nearly 25 million students. The trips are made to and from school, athletic events, camps and religious events. It is estimated that more than 25 school-aged bus riders are killed in these types of accidents every year. Hundreds of others are injured.

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Alabama School Bus Accident a Tragic Reminder of the Dangers

Sep 8, 2011 - Bus Accidents by

Our Alabama personal injury lawyers note with sadness a school bus accident that claimed the life of a Southern Choctaw High School football player and injured 30 others. As we reported recently on our

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Back-to-School Brings Risk of Child Injuries in Tuscaloosa

Aug 22, 2011 - Bus Accidents by

School is in session! Tuscaloosa County Schools started Aug. 10. Other areas schools are also getting under way for the 2011-2012 school year. Please take some time to talk to your kids about staying safe. In this blog, our Tuscaloosa injury lawyers will talk school bus safety. In upcoming blogs, we will discuss teen driving safety and the importance of keeping your young bicyclists and pedestrians safe while traveling to and from school. Alabama school bus accidents can be devastating — both for bus passengers and for other motorists on the road. But what is too often overlooked is the risk of Tuscaloosa pedestrian accidents around buses; nationwide a significant number of all bus fatalities involve pedestrians — often students who are boarding or deboarding. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports about 1,400 people have been killed in school bus accidents in the last decade. Thousands more have been injured.

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Bus Carrying 48 Students Hits 18-Wheeler in Alabama Bus Accident

Jun 9, 2011 - Bus Accidents by

A charter bus traveling from Texas crashed into an overturned tractor-trailer rig in a bus accident in Alabama last week. The bus was traveling on Interstate 10 near the Mississippi line during the dark morning hours Monday, according to The Washington Post. The bus was filled with teenage students. According to authorities, one passenger was listed in serious condition while the rest sustained minor injuries. Since 2000, there have been nearly 1,500 fatal motor-vehicle accidents that were classified as school transportation-related, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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