When a group of tourists was riding through the mountains on a tour bus, there was no reason to expect trouble. However, their bus rear-ended a car, which in turn hit a trailer toting pickup truck. The domino effect of the incident resulted in 42 reported injuries and at least eight deaths.

Many Pennsylvania residents ride buses on a regular basis to work, school, or for leisure, and no one ever expects their bus to be involved in a mass transit accident. While these accidents are not common, when they do happen the results can be devastating as was the case in this recent incident.

The exact trigger of this accident is still unknown. So far investigations have not revealed any known issues with either the driver of the bus or the company that employed him. There are many potential causes of accidents that result in personal injuries and deaths. These include not only driver behaviors such as driving without enough sleep or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but also actions taken by bus companies in maintaining the vehicles. Problems with the road could also be an issue, but in this case, nothing is known for sure.

Mass transit is something many people rely on. With several recent bus crashes occurring that resulted in serious injury or death, it may be time to take a closer look at safety measures and standards of these vehicles and ways of both preventing bus accidents and reducing the amount and severity of injuries that occur when they do happen.

Source: CNN, "At least 8 killed in California tour bus crash," Paul Vercammen, Chandler Friedman and AnneClaire Stapleton, Feb. 4, 2013