Posted on 10/23/2016 6:41:32 PM PDT by chrisinoc
PALM SPRINGS — A tour bus returning home to Los Angeles from a casino trip plowed into the back of a semi-truck on a California highway early Sunday, killing 13 people and injuring 31 others, authorities said.
A maintenance crew had slowed down traffic on Interstate 10 before the vehicles crashed just north of the desert resort town of Palm Springs, California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Jim Abele said. The work had gone on for hours without problems, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
After thinking about it, the load floor of a semi trailer is considerably higher than other vehicles, and is very strong to support the load contained in the trailer. The bus was likely designed to withstand impacts lower to the ground, but the load floor of the trailer just went right through the front half of that bus at seat level. I’d imagine there are some horrific injuries among those survivors seated in the front half, particularly on the right side.
What is sad also is that a lot of these tour buses to and from casinos are full of elderly and/or retired people who have lived and worked their whole lives and now was time for them to have some fun.
From a local news report the bus departed from Koreatown in Los Angeles. Almost certain the majority of these are elderly and/or retired.
Mexican bus driver and Mexican tourists on the bus. Crash? Not again. Happens regularly here in So Cal, Mexicans and Hispanics are not the best drivers and have troubles with alcohol. Rule: always sign up for a bus tour with reputable drivers and companies.
“Driver had to have fallen asleep or lost consciousness, to have plowed into the rear of that tractor-trailer at speed like that.”
Somewhat over 45 years ago I had a job that occasionally required me to work the graveyard shift from midnight to 8:00 a.m. The most absolutely miserable time was from 3:00 a.m. to about 5:00 a.m. Anybody who’s not used to driving during those hours shouldn’t be. It’s an invitation for accidental suicide. I was in my very early 20’s when I learned that lesson.
Perhaps it was loaded full with cargo.
Stay classy.....
I fell asleep driving across west Texas with the cruise control on, the rumble strips on the wide apron woke me up. I’d been out long enough to be dreaming. Talk about startled and scared to death. Not much to hit since I was in “the big nothing” part the state, very little traffic, low scrub past the shoulder, flat as a pan for the most part. And, thank goodness for that. But, I don’t use cruise control to this day because of that experience. I also don’t drive tired, I’ll pull over and walk around for a while to wake up, or nap in the car for a while.
Fell asleep or texting on cell phone related. As a trucker i see it all the time.
10 to 1 Mexican truck drivers who now due to NAFTA can drive unhindered in the states.
You should see what it is like at the DMV Truck driving division. Brown Spanish speaking and Islamic men all taking the exams with coaches to help them pass.
There have been an awful lot of these type of crashes. Probably the most dangerous way to get to Atlantic City NJ.
Damn. First you get cleaned out at the tables (why else take the bus?) and then that.
Think about it: The trailer is designed to support a load of up to 90,000 lbs (45 TONS), while the bus is designed to carry perhaps 10 tons including itself yet be as light as possible for fuel efficiency reasons.
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