Commercial bus crashes in North Carolina 1995 - 1999. Prepared for the Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement Section, Division of Motor Vehicles, North Carolina Department of Transportation.

During the period 1995-1999 there were 1649 commercial bus-involved crashes in North Carolina. 76 percent of all bus-involved crashes occurred on ‘local streets’ as opposed to state and federal highways and/or interstates. Injuries were reported in 49 percent of the crashes. One percent of reported injury crashes involved a fatality. The driver of the bus was injured in 11 percent of the reported crashes; the driver of the other vehicle was injured in 26 percent of the reported crashes. The driver of the ‘other’ vehicle was 11 times more likely to be killed in the crash than the driver of the bus. Over half of all bus-involved crashes occurred in three counties: Mecklenburg, Wake, and Guilford. Bus-involved crashes most often involved 2,4 door sedans and pickup trucks. Bus-involved crashes during this period were most frequent from 3pm to 6pm. Bus-involved crashes had a higher likelihood of occurrence under wet, snowy, or icy road conditions than other vehicles. Approximately 20 percent of bus-involved crashes occurred under these conditions. In 33 percent of bus-involved crashes, the driver of the bus was cited for a traffic violation, most often for an unsafe movement (7 percent of total violations). The driver of the ‘other’ vehicle, on the other hand, was cited for a violation 61 percent of the time (also most likely for unsafe manoeuvre, but at a rate (16%) roughly twice that of the commercial bus operator). In approximately 7 percent of crashes, the driver of the bus was cited for a speed-related violation; in 16 percent of crashes, the driver of the ‘other’ vehicle was cited for a speed-related violation. Generally, the likelihood of the ‘other driver’ being cited for a traffic violation was inversely related to the age of the driver (for drivers between 15 and 50 years of age). In other words, the younger the driver, the more likely the driver was cited for a traffic violation in conjunction with the crash. The exception to this relationship was for drivers over the age of 60. Drivers age 61 and above had higher than expected frequencies of violations for improper lane change violations, unsafe vehicle movements, improper turns, and yield violations. (A)