Example of a Tragic Bus Accident on I-75

In the early morning hours of March 2, 2007, a Bluffton University bus was involved in a tragic accident on Interstate 75 in Atlanta, Georgia. A chartered bus was carrying 33 members of the University's baseball team from Bluffton, Ohio to a baseball tournament in Sarasota, Florida. The group's plan was to travel the 900 mile trip without an overnight stop. At about the half-way point near Atlanta, a relief driver took over and began operating the second half of the trip.

At about 5:38 AM, the driver mistakenly entered a left HOV-only exit ramp which led upward to a wide elevated road and a T-junction marked by a stop sign. The bus was traveling at highway speed, when it reached the top of the ramp and the stop sign. At this speed and short distance, the driver of the bus failed to successfully stop or turn, lost control, and the bus slid sideways into a concrete bridge and plummeted 19 feet, landing onto its left side across the Interstate below. Twenty nine passengers survived the crash and were taken to Atlanta-area hospitals. Seven occupants were killed including the driver, the driver's wife, and five passengers.

In its final report, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the probable cause was "the motorcoach driver's mistaking the HOV-only left exit ramp to Northside Drive for the southbound Interstate 75 HOV through lane." Another contributing factor cited by the NTSB was "failure of the Georgia Department of Transportation to install adequate traffic control devices to identify the separation and divergence of the Northside Drive HOV-only left exit ramp from the southbound Interstate 75 HOV through lane." The NTSB also determined that the severity of the accident was increased by "the motorcoach's lack of an adequate occupant protection system."

Since this tragic crash, new federal guidelines for signage have been established and Georgia has updated all of its HOV exit signage.

Of interest in the investigation is not only the signage but the design of the exit itself. Several factors appear to have played a possible role in this bus crash:

• The exit is on the left-hand side of the Interstate and not the right-hand side;
• Adequate advance notice may not have been given of this unusual exit setup;
• The HOV exit is signed differently than standard exits which fails to impress the driver of the upcoming danger;

If you or someone close to you has been involved in a charter or tour bus accident, you owe it to yourself to learn your rights and to be compensated fairly. Call Charter Bus Attorneys at McAleer Law for a free consultation - 404-816-7374.