In The News
NTSB recommends brake pedal changes
WASHINGTON — A 2005 school bus accident that killed two people and injured 23 elementary students in Missouri occurred because the driver likely stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, according to a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
The NTSB determined that “pedal misapplication†in the crash in Liberty, Mo., and four others since then involving large vehicles likely led to the accidents. After studying those accidents, the safety board approved recommendations Tuesday urging the government to require that new buses and large vehicles have equipment installed forcing the driver to press the brake to shift the automatic transmission out of park.
The NTSB also approved recommendations for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop pedal designs for the larger vehicles that make it easier to distinguish the brake from the accelerator.
“They have required changes in passenger cars to address unintended acceleration. It is time for them to focus on commercial vehicles,†NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said.
The NTSB investigation found no evidence of drug and alcohol use as a factor in the 2005 Missouri school bus accident, and also concluded that driver training wasn’t an issue.
The driver, who had been driving for the school district for seven years at the time of the accident, told investigators she couldn’t get the bus to stop before it slammed into two cars at an intersection. The NTSB investigation found no problems with the bus’ brakes.
Twenty-three of the 53 children aboard the school bus were injured in the crash, which killed the drivers of the cars.
All five accidents reviewed by NTSB featured similar circumstances — the drivers either reported a loss of braking or were observed by vehicle occupants to be unsuccessfully attempting to stop the vehicles, although there was no evidence of problems with the brakes.
Kevin Jones of
The Trucker
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