Bus and Recreational Vehicle Accident Reconstruction and Litigation

by Hickman, Roy Scott

• ISBN13: 9780913875766
• ISBN10: 0913875767
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-07-30
• Publisher: Lawyers & Judges Pub Co

Summary

A source book of information to guide you through reconstructing and litigating accidents involving school buses, motor coaches or recreational vehicles. Although accidents involving these vehicles are rare, they can be deadly. This book discusses vehicles most at risk for a serious accident, human factors issues pertaining to drivers and passengers, risk management programs for school and commercial operations, maintenance, and more.

Author Biography

Roy Scott Hickman, Ph.D., P.E., is a mechanical engineer. He is professor emeritus at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Paul F. Hill is a retired law school librarian and a member of the Nebraska Bar.

Table of Contents

Accident Reconstruction
Introduction	p. 1
Bus Types	p. 2
Types of Buses--Some General Comments	p. 2
Operators	p. 3
Accidents and Incidents	p. 4
How to Use This Book	p. 4
Notes	p. 4
History and Statistics	p. 7
Buses--Some General Comments	p. 7
Bus Accident Studies	p. 8
Jovanis study	p. 8
The Michigan study	p. 9
The Abacus Technology Corporation study	p. 10
The Federal Transit Administration	p. 11
The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. study	p. 11
The Michael M. Kaddatz study	p. 11
School Buses	p. 11
Legal Issues	p. 22
Insurance Protection	p. 23
Conclusion	p. 25
Notes	p. 26
Common Features of Buses	p. 29
Introduction	p. 29
General Characteristics of Bus Accidents	p. 30
Passengers	p. 30
Driver's Station	p. 31
Braking Systems	p. 32
Foundation brakes	p. 32
Spring brakes	p. 34
Brake Operation Systems	p. 35
Hydraulic brakes	p. 35
Air brakes	p. 35
Air Brake Operation	p. 39
Service brake system	p. 39
Parking brake system	p. 42
Normal running	p. 43
Parking	p. 43
Loss of air pressure while parked	p. 43
Emergency Operation	p. 43
Air System Accessories	p. 44
Antilock Braking and Brake Retarders	p. 44
Brake Linings	p. 46
Tires	p. 47
Time Lag in Air Brake Systems	p. 47
SAE Recommended Practices	p. 47
SAE Standards and Procedures	p. 48
General Safety Issues	p. 49
Handicapped Access Issues	p. 51
Conclusion	p. 53
Notes	p. 53
Inter-City Buses	p. 61
Characteristics	p. 61
Prevost Car Inc. of Saint Claire, Quebec, Canada	p. 67
Rollover Accidents	p. 67
Seat Belts	p. 68
Enclosed Overhead Luggage Racks	p. 70
Federal Motor Vehicle Standards	p. 70
Other Federal Activity	p. 71
Some Specific Accidents Involving Coaches	p. 72
Mexico	p. 72
Bus vault accidents	p. 72
Atlantic City, New Jersey	p. 74
New Orleans, Louisiana	p. 74
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	p. 74
Rancho Cucamonga, California	p. 74
St. Joseph De La Rive, Quebec	p. 74
Coach-truck collision	p. 75
Rollover accident	p. 75
Loss of control and collision with a bridge rail	p. 77
Tour bus rollover	p. 79
Bus strikes the rear of a truck trailer	p. 80
Conclusion	p. 81
Notes	p. 83
Transit Buses	p. 89
Introduction	p. 89
Handicapped Access	p. 90
Entry Height	p. 97
Cost	p. 98
Types of Accidents and Incidents	p. 103
Causes of Accidents and Incidents	p. 106
Selection and Hiring Drivers	p. 108
Defensive Driving Training	p. 109
Simulators Used in Driver Training	p. 109
Driver Incentive Programs	p. 109
Customer Safety Programs	p. 109
Driver Vision	p. 111
Doors and Door Controls	p. 111
Handrails, Stanchions, and Edge Markings	p. 112
Seat Belts	p. 114
Injury	p. 114
Articulated Buses	p. 117
Brake Lights and Warning Signals	p. 117
Bus Stops	p. 118
Near side stops	p. 118
Far side stops	p. 120
Mid-block stops	p. 121
Bus turnouts and pullouts	p. 123
Bus stop pads	p. 123
Shelters	p. 123
Safety Management Programs	p. 124
Accident and incident procedures	p. 124
Reduction of questionable claims	p. 124
Review of Some Recalls and Safety Related Actions	p. 125
Allied-Signal Inc.	p. 125
Chance Coach Inc., of Wichita, Kansas	p. 125
Crane Carrier Co., of Tulsa, Oklahoma	p. 126
Flexible Metro Buses	p. 126
General Motors Corp.	p. 126
Goshen Coach	p. 127
National Seating Co.	p. 127
Navistar International Transportation Corp.	p. 128
Neoplan Buses Usa Corp., of Lamar, Colorado	p. 129
Orion Transit Buses (Transit Manufacturing Inc., of Oriskany New Jersey, formerly Bus Industries of America Inc.)	p. 129
Oshkosh Truck Corp.	p. 130
Stewart and Stevenson Buses	p. 131
Thomas Built Buses Inc., of High Point, North Carolina	p. 131
Transportaion Manufacturing Co. of Roswell, New Mexico	p. 132
Some Transit Bus Accidents	p. 133
Normandy, Missouri	p. 133
Cosmopolis, Washington	p. 133
New York City, New York	p. 134
Nashville, Tennessee	p. 134
Santa Clara County, California	p. 135
Palos Verdes, California	p. 136
Hollywood, California	p. 136
Los Angeles, California	p. 137
Seattle, Washington	p. 137
Sherman Oaks, California	p. 137
Conclusion	p. 138
Notes	p. 138
School Buses	p. 145
Introduction	p. 145
Compartmentalization	p. 148
Clothing Snags	p. 155
Loading Zones	p. 156
Seat Belts and Passive Protection	p. 158
Recalls and Investigations	p. 163
Amtran school buses	p. 164
Blue Bird	p. 165
Chance Coach Inc., of Wichita, Kansas	p. 166
Carpenter school bus chassis	p. 166
Coach And Equipment Manufacturing Corp.	p. 167
Collins school buses	p. 167
Crane Carrier Co.	p. 167
Crown Coach	p. 167
Ford Motor Company	p. 168
General Motors Corp.	p. 169
Navistar International Transportation Corp.	p. 169
Oshkosh Truck Corp.	p. 171
Thomas Built Buses Inc.	p. 171
Van-Con school buses	p. 173
Wayne Wheeled Vehicles	p. 173
Accidents	p. 173
Train And School Bus Accidents	p. 173
Buffalo, Montana	p. 174
Sinton, Texas	p. 174
Port Allen, Louisiana	p. 174
Morehouse Parish, Louisiana	p. 175
Fox River Grove, Illinois	p. 175
Apopka, Florida	p. 175
Chicago, Illinois	p. 176
Lafayette, Oregon	p. 176
Somerdale, New Jersey	p. 177
Greeley, Colorado	p. 177
Pekin, Illinois	p. 178
Grant City Station, N.Y.C., New York	p. 178
Mountain Lake Park, Maryland	p. 178
North Harvey, Illinois	p. 179
Spring City, Tennessee	p. 179
Riverton, Utah	p. 180
NTSB Crash Investigations	p. 181
Beaumont, Texas, December 23, 1983	p. 181
Johnsondale, California, March 5, 1985	p. 184
Ackerly, Texas, July 20, 1985; Eureka Springs, Arkansas, September 13, 1985 and Bramwell. West Virginia, October 14, 1985	p. 187
Snyder, Oklahoma	p. 187
St. Louis County, Missouri, November 11, 1985	p. 189
Miami, Florida, September 28, 1983	p. 190
Birmingham, Alabama, April 12, 1984	p. 191
Tuba City, Arizona	p. 193
Jefferson, North Carolina, March 13, 1985	p. 195
Los Angeles, California, June 23, 1999	p. 197
Los Angeles, California, December 1995	p. 198
Notes	p. 198
Other Buses and Recreational Vehicles	p. 207
Airport Shuttle Buses	p. 207
Entry steps	p. 211
Seat belts	p. 211
Handicapped riders	p. 211
Recreational Vehicles	p. 215
Types and components	p. 215
Recalls of RVs and RV parts	p. 217
Fontaine Fifth Wheel Co., of Birmingham, Alabama	p. 217
Georgie Boy Mfg. Inc. of Edwardsburg, Michigan	p. 218
Holiday Rambler LLC, of Wakarusa, Indiana	p. 218
Oskosh	p. 218
Skyline Corp	p. 219
Winnebago Industries, of Forest City, Iowa	p. 219
Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., of Riverside, California	p. 219
Notes	p. 219
Accident Reconstruction	p. 221
Introduction	p. 221
Skid Mark Analysis, Perception Reaction Times and Braking Processes	p. 222
Perception time	p. 222
Reaction time	p. 223
Some Preliminaries	p. 223
Friction	p. 224
Hydroplaning	p. 229
Skids	p. 230
Conservation of Linear Momentum	p. 230
Simple Examples	p. 231
Delta-v	p. 232
Crush of Vehicles	p. 233
Coefficient of Restitution	p. 242
Brush-by Accidents	p. 243
Summary	p. 245
Notes	p. 245
Driver Issues	p. 249
Introduction	p. 249
Driver Selection and Training	p. 249
Selection and hiring drivers	p. 250
Defensive driving training	p. 251
Simulators used in driver training	p. 251
Driver incentive programs	p. 251
Drugs and Alcohol	p. 251
Safety Inspections	p. 252
Driver Altercations	p. 252
Driver Disability	p. 253
Driver Comfort and Well Being	p. 253
Literature	p. 253
Notes	p. 255
Comments on the Attorney-Expert Relationship: Selecting and Working with the Expert	p. 259
Introduction	p. 259
Tests for Expert Testimony	p. 260
Fees	p. 262
Referral Services	p. 263
Pro Bono Work	p. 263
Bias	p. 263
Opposing Experts	p. 264
Depositions of Opposing Experts	p. 264
Qualifying an Expert	p. 265
Arguments Concerning Expert Witnesses' Opinions	p. 265
Cross-examining the Opposing Expert Witness	p. 266
Comments for Experts	p. 266
Ethics	p. 267
Fees and Contracts	p. 267
Meetings with Experts	p. 267
Files	p. 268
Depositions	p. 269
Video Depositions	p. 271
Trial	p. 271
Summary	p. 272
Notes	p. 272
Digital Demonstrative Evidence	p. 277
Introduction	p. 277
Special Effects	p. 278
Medical	p. 278
Product Litigation	p. 278
Digital Video and Nonlinear Editing	p. 279
Computer Animation	p. 279
Accuracy	p. 280
Two-Dimensional Drawings	p. 280
Three-Dimensional Animation of Actual Objects	p. 281
Computer Animation	p. 282
Animation Costs	p. 283
Computer Simulation	p. 284
Presentation in the Courtroom and Deposition	p. 285
Analog videotape	p. 285
Laser disc	p. 285
CD-ROM	p. 285
Digital video tape	p. 285
Display Equipment in the Courtroom	p. 286
The Attorney's Role in Preparing Digital Demonstrative Testimony or Data	p. 286
The Attorney's Role in Preparing for Opposing Digital Demonstrative Testimony or Data	p. 287
Access to the Computer Program	p. 288
The Opposition's Animation	p. 289
Summary	p. 289
Notes	p. 289
Litigation
Governmental Immunity and Damage Caps	p. 293
Negligence for Location of School Bus Stop	p. 301
Passenger Boarding City or Inter-City Bus	p. 307
Passenger Alighting from City or Inter-City Bus	p. 317
Public Buses: Sudden Stops, Swerves, Bumps and Other Causes of Injuries while Riding	p. 343
School Buses: Injury while Boarding, Riding, or Alighting	p. 365
Public Bus: Liability for Assault by Fellow Passenger, Bus Driver, or External Attacks	p. 381
School Buses: Liability for Injury from Assaults and Unruly Behavior	p. 391
Miscellaneous Bus Driver's Duties	p. 401
Bus Driver Issues: Respondeat Superior, Independent Contractor, Negligent Hiring Including Medical Conditions	p. 409
Product Liability and Negligent Repair or Maintenance	p. 417
Insurance Considerations	p. 425
Glossary	p. 441
Appendices	p. 447
Bibliography	p. 481
About the Authors	p. 487
Index	p. 489
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.