Perspective
Jan. 19, 2017
SB 247: Crash inspires charter bus safety regulations
Requires all California charter bus drivers to give written or oral safety instructions before each trip, just like what flight attendants do for plane passengers. By Geoff Wells
Geoffrey S. Wells
Greene, Broillet & Wheeler LLP
100 Wilshire Blvd Fl 21
Santa Monica , CA 90401-1116
Phone: (310) 576-1200
Email: gwells@gbw.law
Pepperdine Law School
As a survivor of one of our state's most deadly and tragic charter bus accidents, Santiago Calderon of Oxnard turned his grief into action.
On April 10, 2014, Calderon joined dozens of college-bound, high school students from Southern California on a charter bus trip to visit Humboldt State University. On the last leg of the ride, a FedEx tractor-trailer jumped the median on Interstate 5 in Orland and smashed into the bus.
The collision sparked a gas-fueled inferno that engulfed the bus, killing 10 people. Thirty-nine survivors scrambled in terror to find an exit at the back of the bus but one didn't exist. A quick-thinking student kicked out a window allowing the injured to escape. Memories of what Calderon calls "the worst day of my life" motivated him to speak out and testify at legislative hearings about the need to improve the safety and operating requirements on charter buses.
Senate Bill 247, also known as "The Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act," was authored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens.
The new law, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September, requires all California charter bus drivers to give written or oral safety instructions before each trip, just like what flight attendants do for plane passengers. It also requires buses manufactured after July 1, 2020, to be equipped with emergency lighting that turns on in the event of an impact or collision. The law mandates buses to have fewer flammable materials, along with a second emergency door, push-out windows and well-lit exit signs.
These common sense measures are long overdue. Outdated federal standards no longer apply to modern day motor coaches, which can carry up to 80 passengers. Today's buses have many interior fixtures constructed with flammable plastic, which can easily catch fire in accidents.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the FedEx driver was at fault. Dozens of gallons of fuel sparked the fire and design elements on the bus contributed to the deaths and injuries. However, the NTSB concluded that a lack of event data recorders on the bus and in the truck prevented the panel from determining what caused the truck driver to lose control of his rig.
While there's nothing anyone can do to erase the heartache and loss of loved ones, the legislative efforts to strengthen regulation and enact stronger safety measures will provide greater protections for bus passengers in the future.
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