bus accident
Topic: news
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060829/bus_crash_060829/20060829?hub=CTVNewsAt11

please copy and paste this to see pics and video and read articles about the greyhound bus accident in new york yesterday

greyhound bus accident
Topic: news
5 die in Greyhound bus accident
Updated: 8/28/2006 10:44 PM
By: Staff

Police say five people have died in a Greyhound bus accident on the Northway between exits 30 and 31. The Director of Emergency Services for Essex County says 45 people were onboard bus number 4014.

Greyhound says the bus left New York City at 1 p.m., and made stops in Albany and Saratoga Springs. It was on its way to Montreal.

The driver reportedly lost control, crashed through guardrails and went down an embankment. It overturned at least twice before landing upside down on the median. There is no word yet on the cause.

The Northway remains closed to all traffic between exits 30 and 31. We have crews on the way to the scene, and will have more details as soon as they become available.

Greyhound officials have set up a phone number for those who believe their loved ones may have been on the bus. That number is 1-800-972-4583.

tracking buses----trailways for now
Topic: news

August 24, 2006
In an age when people look twice at rental trucks and consider airplanes to be loaded missiles, the motorcoach industry is taking its own precautions.
Wednesday, Randy and Stephanie Futral, who own the 15-bus Memphis Trailways and Starkville Trailways, showed off a global positioning system -- funded by the Department of Homeland Security -- that means anyone with Internet access can trace a Trailways bus on their computer screen.

"The driver can hit a panic button if the bus is overtaken, and immediately alert authorities where the bus is," he said.
Trucking companies and motorcoach lines have had GPS systems for nearly a decade. What they haven't had is a way to let law enforcement and the general public monitor the intelligence.

With a $1.5 million grant from Homeland Security, Trailways is wrapping up installation of an Internet-based GPS system that also monitors the speed the bus is traveling, direction, weather conditions, even how long the driver has been at the wheel.

Trailways, which has 70 franchisers across the nation, is the first motorcoach line with the capability.

"We all notice if a rental truck is parked in front of a building," said Mark Szyperski, sales director for Trailways Transportation System. "A bus is often stopped in front of a building. If you see the driver walk away, you don't think much about it."

Since most buses can go about 1,000 miles on a full tank of fuel, a stolen or hijacked bus, he said, could be in New York or Washington before it had to refuel. "You can pack a lot of explosives on an empty bus," Szyperski said. "With this system, we're able to find the bus. We know exactly where it is."

In a milder frame, the system also means parents can track the charter bus that is carrying their children's soccer team or football team.

"It's a real selling tool for us. Now we can give the group leader a passcode and the bus number, and they can see where the bus is at all times. They don't have to call to find out when the bus will be home," said Stephanie Futral.

Drivers initially weren't crazy about the monitoring, Randy Futral said, until they realized it also meant they couldn't be blamed for being late when they weren't or cajoled into going out of their way to pick up extra passengers.

"If a whole busload of people misses a show because they say the driver was late, it's a little hard to be the driver," Szyperski said. "Now we can look and see that he in fact was there on time, like he said he was."

The Futrals bought the 20-year-old Starkville Buses in 2003. In 2004, they bought the Trailways franchise, and added the Memphis operation early this year.

Since then, they've added two coaches, including an executive sleeper coach that is large enough to accommodate university teams, for instance, that want to sleep on the road after a late game.

--Jane Roberts:

--------------------

Memphis Trailways

President: Randy Futral

Web: starkvilletrailways.com

greyhound pulls out---others take over---again
Mood:  cool
Topic: news


Indian TrMonday, August 14, 2006
By Shandra Martinez
The Grand Rapids Press
HOLLAND -- Greyhound Lines' loss is Indian Trails' gain.

On Tuesday, the same day Greyhound Lines stops rolling into Holland, Owosso-based Indian Trails Motorcoach will pull in.

"We recognized that many travelers would be left without daily bus service when Greyhound Lines announced the abandonment of service to Holland and South Haven," said company President Gordon Mackay in a press release. "Our mainline route between Chicago and Flint relies heavily on passengers transferring from other points. In order to preserve that connecting service and continue to provide service to the residents of the area, we felt compelled to add the best level of service we could."

indain trails is interested in adding more stops along the Lakeshore, said Ken Henry, vice president of operations for Indian Trails, which started in 1910.

"If Greyhound decides to abandon Muskegon, we may look at a route that includes Grand Haven," Henry said. "A lot of our primary east-west business depends on the feeder traffic from the north."

While Greyhound offered two daily round trips from Holland in recent years, Indian Trails will offer one from Grand Rapids to Holland then South Haven and Benton Harbor.

At Benton Harbor, this coach will connect to westbound service with stops in Gary, Indiana, Hammond and Chicago.

At the Chicago Greyhound station, passengers can connect to all points west and south. Eastbound connections are also available at Benton Harbor via connection to Greyhound service.

The fares are slightly less than Greyhound rates, Henry said. For example, a one-way ticket to Chicago from Holland is $32.25, about $5 less than Greyhound charged.

The company is primarily a charter bus service. Only 11 of the company's 46-bus fleet are used for regular route service.

As a result, the buses have the feel of charter buses, Henry said. All are wheelchair accessible, feature live satellite TV service, enhanced leg room and extra wide seating.

In its new territory, Indian Trails will operate from Holland's Amtrak Depot at 171 Lincoln Ave. and from the Phoenix Plaza on Phoenix Rd at Int. 196 in South Haven.

The new Indian Trails route will provide a link between Amtrak trains in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Passengers arriving in Kalamazoo on Amtrak's Wolverine service will make a direct connection to a noon Indian Trails coach bound for Grand Rapids and then to Holland and South Haven.

Amtrak passengers traveling through Holland and South Haven on the Pere Marquette and arriving in Grand Rapids at 10:20 p.m. will be able to reach Kalamazoo via the returning Indian Trails coach departing Grand Rapids at 10:50 p.m.

"With gasoline and costs of driving one's personal vehicle constantly on the rise, we're we're confident that passengers will find this new service to be economical and useful for their travel plans," Mackay said.

bus fire
Topic: news
this is wicked
must watch this
link to video

put it into perspective
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: driving adventures
for all of you who have never driven a bus of any kind, i will try here to put into perspective for you.

i am sure all of you have been either to the grocery store or walmart. all kinds of people in there.
grab a cart and start pushing it around.(one that has one of those wheels that squeek). now put behind you about 14 senior citizens ( some are married and some are alone). as you go on looking for more to buy add about 10 teenagers and 10 kids (make sure one of those kids are about the age where they ask for everything in the store). then add 14 single adults. now you can't forget that couple with 3 kids who are crying for something and a baby who is happily sleeping but as you get to the check out line wakes up very hungery.
make sure that you remember to get everything on your list, keep your eye on all of them, don't run into anyone or hit anything or know over the stacks of cans in the middle of the isle. did anyone speed past you and cut you off trying to get to the isle you are going to next? did anyone pop around a corner or did a child come run up from behind you to get at the chocolate milk? did you miss your turn and have to go back for the ketchup? did anyone fall off the cart? can you hear the cashier----how much do you owe? now go out to the parking lot and let everyone off and go to their own cars. (don't let em trip or fall off. make sure everyone had a good ride with you. also make sure nobody gets hit by that car trying to park next to you or the one that is backing out. did anyone get left behind or did someone forget anything. remember during this whole time----one mistake can mean real property damage, injury or death.
how did you do?
was that a little too much?
try doing that everyday.....too much fun.:)

the verses to the Wheels on the Bus
Mood:  mischievious
Topic: driving adventures
I have heard this song many times while driving people around----doesn't matter who they are or how old they will sing a verse or two but for your info. there are alot of verses.(maybe more that aren't even here.)
enjoy....

1. Wheels on the bus go round and round
2. Door on the bus goes open and shut
3. Driver on the bus says move on back
4. Engine on the bus goes vroom
5. The horn on the bus goes beep
6. The lights on the bus go on and off
7. The wipers on the bus go swish
8. The daddies on the bus go read
9. The bees on the bus they make us scream
10. The babies on the bus go whah
11. The mommies on the bus go shhh
12. The kids on the bus sing very loud
13. The Parents on the bus say it's too much!
14. The brakes on the bus go squeak
15. The grandpas on the bus go snore
16. The windows on the bus go up and down
17. The boys on the bus say gee it's hot
18. The girls on the bus say no it's not
19. The teachers on the bus say please sit down
20. The grandma's on the bus go knit
21. The floor on the bus gets awful dirty
22. The buzzer on the bus goes buzz
23. The lunches on the bus, they make us sick
24. Everyone on the bus say we want off
25. The seats on the bus are very hard
Alternates for #17 and #18:
a. The Boys on the bus they pick their nose
b. The Girls on the bus say ooh that's gross

10 clues youre dating a bus driver
Mood:  mischievious
Topic: joke
10 clues you're dating or married to a bus driver

10. If he/she pre-trips the family car, daily.

9. If he/she reaches for a microphone, to speak to you.

8. If he/she waves with a smile, at all crossing guards.

7. If he/she has an emergency evacuation twice a year, when riding the Harley.

6. If he/she parks the car in the bus loading zone, during P.T.A. meetings.

5. If he/she has you sign off the pre-trip book, before you drive his/her pickup.

4. You're probably married to a special education bus driver if he/she only waits two minutes, for you to get out to the car.

3. If he/she writes up her/his children for bad behavior, in the family mini-van.

2. if he/she asks for a route sheet, to take you shopping.

1. if he/she stops at all railroad crossings with the emergency flashers on, in his/her clunker.

accidents
Topic: just wondering
this one i also posted on news--accidents
in a way, i have an issue with this "result"....
the driver sweeved to avoid a semis load that fell off his trailer. NOW I WAS NOT THERE SO THIS IS ONLY MY PERSPECTIVE....unless the driver of this bus just passed this truck and took notice as to what he was hauling she did not know what it was and therefore did not want to hit it.....(at one point during interviews even one of the passengers said it was something that he didn't think they could just hit or run over....we could have been driving and each of us done things differently but it was not us and how can we say anything AFTER KNOWING ALL THE INFORMATION. did the driver know what that stuff was that fell in the road? probably not.
now here again we could all be properly trained to drive and all that but until it actually happens how do we know (even if we are prepared and trained---do we know what we are going to do) will you oversteer or understeer or run over the stuff and hope you don't go airborne or slam to a stop. will we make a mistake or do it perfectly?
i guess for me that is the bottom line---perfection ---we are not all perfect and yet we are expected to be as drivers (a huge weight on our shoulders) and if we aren't people get hurt or worse die and then we could be fired or sued or both.
again don't get me wrong,....i am not talking about those accidents that happen when a driver backs into something that isn't moving or turns and hits that sign or a roof or parked car (minor accidents yet very expensive that only cost money not lives). I am talking about all the other ones that people get hurt-----the ACCIDENTS.
do you agree or disagree?
HERE IS THE STORY I AM REFERING TO:

On Thursday, the Department of Public Safety released a report stating that the fatal bus crash from March 29th was the result of “faulty evasive action” on behalf of the bus driver.

The West Brook High School girl`s varsity soccer team was headed to a playoff game in Humble when their bus flipped killing two students, sophomore Ashley Brown and Senior Alicia Bonura.

The accident left more than a dozen students with serious injuries; three still remained in the hospital Thursday night according to a spokesperson. “They`re all progressing well,” said the families’ spokesperson Kristi Fuselier, “It`s just we`re starting on our long journey to recovery.”








Here is a summary of what the investigator, Trooper Nathan Pierce, believes happened:

The truck carrying the trailer was headed eastbound on U.S. 90. The Sun Travel Limousines charter bus was traveling westbound on the same route. The trailer lost a portion of its load (the insulation) after a strap came loose. The objects landed in the westbound lane. The bus driver swerves to the right to avoid hitting the fallen insulation, then the bus goes off the road onto the grass. The bus then veers to the left, going back across the roadway in an attempt to regain control. The bus driver takes faulty evasive action to the right causing the bus to tip over on its left side. The bus slides into a ditch facing east before coming to a stop. The truck turned around to gather the lost load. The bus driver stated that she had cleared the windshield from being fogged prior to the crash.

bus accident
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: news
this is a story that has been in the news for a while. the info about a cell phone and radio is new info. just thought i'd share this with everyone....just another reason not to talk on the phone even if he wasn't.....they think he was if i am reading this right.


PHILADELPHIA (AP) - July 20, 2006 - The mother of a girl who lost her hand in a bus crash that injured dozens of children on their way home from a field trip is suing the driver, the bus company, and other parties involved in the accident.

Makeba Fitzgerald alleged in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the driver, 18-year-old Kevin Talbert Jr., was distracted by his cell phone and a radio while driving children home to Philadelphia from the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

The suit also claims that Talbert should not have been driving, since federal law prohibits anyone under 21 from driving a commercial vehicle between states. His employer, Yellowbird Bus Co., of Philadelphia, is named as a defendant. "They booked the trip," Bernard Smalley, Fitzgerald's lawyer, said Thursday. "They knew he would be crossing state lines."

A preliminary police report on the July 5 accident near Aberdeen, Md., found that a truck cab driven by Michael Schultz went out of its lane on northbound Interstate 95 and hit the bus on its right side. The bus swerved into the median and back across both lanes of I-95, turning over on its left side and coming to rest on the shoulder.

Nearly 60 people were injured in the crash, including Fitzgerald's daughter, 8-year-old Deneik Brownlee.
Deneik was thrown from the bus and ended up with her right arm pinned under it. Her hand was severed, and she suffered multiple fractures to her right elbow and severe trauma to her shoulders and left arm and hand, according to the lawsuit.
She is now recuperating at a Philadelphia hospital.

The bus was one of six returning to Norris Square Day Camp in Philadelphia from Baltimore.

Smalley said it's not clear whether Talbert was using his phone at the time of the accident.

The lawsuit maintains that both Talbert and Schultz were driving unsafely.

Cowan Systems, a Baltimore trucking company that employed Schultz, was also named as a defendant.

An attorney for Schultz, of Northeast, Md., and Cowan Systems did not immediately return a phone call for comment.

The suit, filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, alleges negligence, infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages.