Articles Posted in Accidents, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

A school bus carrying nineteen student passengers was involved in a traffic accident last week according to a Post-Standard story on Syracuse.com. A local woman lost control of her pick-up truck and collided with the bus on Route 264 in Palermo, New York. According to the Oswego County Sheriff’s department, the bus driver attempted to steer around the pick-up but was unable to completely avoid contact with the truck. The truck struck the bus twice before coming to a stop. Fortunately, neither the students nor the two drivers were seriously injured in the crash. Sheriff’s deputies issued no tickets, as the cause of the accident was determined to be a combination of inclement weather conditions and unsafe speed, among other factors.

Traffic accidents are far more likely to occur when the weather turns cold and drivers have to deal with ice and snow covered roads, and the news report above serves as a reminder how easily accidents can occur during the winter, particularly those that involve larger vehicles like school and commercial buses. Bottar Law, PLLC has decades of experience helping the victims of bus accidents and, while thankfully, no one was severely injured in this latest bus crash, those involved were lucky to escape the incident unharmed. School bus accidents, like those involving other forms of mass transportation, are particularly serious due to the large number of passengers and the lack of safety belts for those passengers. Therefore, when such a wreck does occur, the damage and injuries can be catastrophic. If you or a loved have been injured in a school or charter bus accident, you should contact a Syracuse New York bus accident attorney to learn your rights.

If you need to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney, contact Bottar Law, PLLC at (315) 422-3466, (833) 268-8277, or by e-mail at info@bottarleone.com. We would be happy to put our experience to work for you.

According to a recent report issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), teen car accident deaths nationwide, including in New York, have declined over the past 5 years by nearly 40%. This is great news for parents around the country, as well as those who have been injured in a car accident with a teen driver. Education aimed at safe teen driving is starting to work.

“The statistics are reassuring,” said Michael A. Bottar, Esq., a Syracuse personal injury lawyer with Bottar Law, PLLC, “but nearly 10,000 teens were killed in car accidents between 2004 and 2008. This is far too many. We need to do more, as a New York wrongful death lawsuit cannot not bring back a lost child.”

The CDC study revealed that 50% of teen car accidents involved only one car. 42% involved two cars and 8% involved three or more cars. 87% of the crashes resulted in one fatality. 65% of the teen drivers were male. Teen car accidents in New York and New Jersey were among the lowest in the nation. New York and New Jersey have restrictive licensing laws which include limitations on passengers and teen driving at night.

New York State Route 81 is a 183 mile highway that runs from the Pennsylvania State line to the Canadian border at the 1000 Islands, through Broome, Cortland, Onondaga, Oswego and Jefferson counties.

The heavily traveled highway, with more than 150 exits, is a main thoroughfare for tractor trailers traveling north and south across New York. According to New York tractor trailer accident lawyer Michael A. Bottar, an attorney with Bottar Law, PLLC, a law firm handling claims for those injured in a car accident on Route 81, “tired tractor trailer drivers are having a difficult time finding open resting places. The I-81 Corridor Coalition was formed, in part, to address the lack of a system to inform drowsy truckers where they can stop to rest or sleep.”

Statistically, commercial truck drivers drive for longer periods of time and for greater distances than most motorists. When tractor trailer drivers are tired behind the wheel, the risk of a crash that can result in a wrongful death or serious injury increases. “For this reason, state and federal authorities have regulations that limit the number of hours that a trucker can drive without taking a break,” said Anthony S. Bottar, Esq., a New York truck crash attorney with decades of experience representing New York tractor-trailer accident victims and their families in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits throughout the Northeast. Bottar added that “a system that notifies truckers where they can rest should help direct tired truckers off of the road where they can present a danger to passing motorists.”
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On the heels of the September 11, 2010 Syracuse Megabus crash, which resulted in the wrongful death of Ashwani Mehta (34), Deanna Armstrong (18), Kevin Coffey (19) and Benjamin Okorie (35), as well as injury to dozens, a second double-decker Megabus was involved in an accident with a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) vehicle in University City, a Philadelphia neighborhood.

According to Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., the second Megabus accident in as many weeks occurred at around 3:15 a.m., near the the 30th Street Station. Apparently, a cargo hatch on the Washington-bound M21 bus opened as the bus turned onto Market Street. The open hatch door then struck a SEPTA work truck. The door was torn from its hinges. Even though the bus was carrying approximately 60 passengers, no one was injured.

In the wake of the Syracuse crash, Dale Moser, president and chief operating officer of CoachUSA, stated that Megabus is “a safe company. We’re not a fly-by-night company.” According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Megabus’ safety record is “satisfactory.” Per the FMCSA database, Megabus had a total of four accidents involving two injuries and no fatalities in the 24 months before the September 11, 2010 Megabus road accident.

As Syracuse bus accident lawyers, we were the first Central New York personal injury law firm to discuss the September 11, 2010 Megabus accident in Liverpool, New York. In our blog post, entitled Syracuse Bus Crash Lawyers Review New York CSX Bridge Accident in Onondaga, and our press release entitled Syracuse Bus Accident Lawyers Report September 11 Coach Megabus Collision With Low-Clearance Train Bridge In Liverpool New York, we commented on various aspects of liability for the wrongful death of four and injury to dozens, including reports that the bus driver was using a personal GPS at the time the 13’0″ tall bus collided with a 10’9″ high train bridge.

Since that time, distracted driving in Syracuse has received a great deal of attention. Under particular scrutiny are New York public transportation drivers. Last week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority cited 178 bus drivers for distracted driving. Infractions included text-messaging, eating and even reading while driving bus passengers through city streets. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is reportedly holding a Distracted Driving summit this week. Reports suggest that Secretary LaHood will be stressing rules that prohibit bus drivers and truck drivers from texting on the job, as well as rules that prevent train engineers from using cell phones and other electronic devices while operating passenger and freight trains.
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