(Transcript)

Today, we are going to be talking about charter bus crashes. It has become a common occurrence to read about these accidents in the news. A recent such crash occurred when a charter bus traveling to a Texas casino crashed and rolled over resulting in 8 deaths and at least 44 injured in south Texas. A devastating accident. My guest is Texas Attorney Terry Bryant and he is going to talk with us about this topic. So Terry thanks for being here today.

Terry Bryant: Thank you for having me.

Dei Lynam: Terry I know you’ve represented victims of bus crashes in the past. Have you found there to be some commonalities in the causes if these horrific crashes?

Terry Bryant: Yes. Some of the common causes we see include driver errors. A driver can be distracted or misjudge a maneuver having failed to account for the size of the vehicle they’re driving. We also see drug and alcohol related causes. And then there are crashes that maybe due to road hazards or mechanical failure or another driver.

Dei Lynam: And why is it that these crashes are often so deadly?

Terry Bryant: Well first of all, virtually all of these crashes are horrific in fatalities, and severe injuries are common because of the size of the vehicles. Also most buses don’t come with safety restraints. So if the vehicle rolls over or hits another vehicle head on, passengers tend to get tossed around.

Dei Lynam: What about the training and competence of bus drivers. What kind of training do they get?

Terry Bryant: They have to obtain a CDL license which is a commercial driver’s license. They also need a passenger endorsement on their license. School bus drivers also need a special endorsement to transport children. Handling one of these passenger transports is often cumbersome and takes getting used to.  Also, each driver must be trained for their specific route and work environment. Just getting a CDL is not enough. Driving through a route slowly and without distractions is nothing like a standard work day for these employees. For this reason drivers should receive at least one month of training, though more complex routes may require up to 3 months in instruction. If this training is not given to the driver, there’s a much greater chance a bus crash will occur.

Dei Lynam: So why is it so important to hire an attorney to represent you in these cases?

Terry Bryant: First of all, a lawyer is going to help victims assess damage and get compensation for their medical bills. The bus companies have a team of lawyers on their side and it’s really important that a bus crash victim be represented as well. The average person is just not going to know how to sort out the complexities of a case like this.

Dei Lynam: Terry, thank you for your time today.

Terry Bryant: Thank you.

For more information about bus accidents, please visit our website at https://www.terrybryant.com/types-of-accidents/bus-accidents.