On Tuesday, May 31, 2011, approximately 4:55 a.m. eastern daylight time, a 2000 Setra 59-passenger motorcoach operated by Sky Express, Inc., occupied by a driver and 58 passengers, was traveling north on Interstate 95 in the right lane of the three northbound lanes near Doswell, Virginia. The motorcoach drifted from the highway to the right, struck a cable barrier, rotated counterclockwise around its vertical axis, overturned to the right, and rolled onto its roof. The accident investigation focused on the issues of driver fatigue, motorcoach deficiencies in roof strength and occupant...

On March 12, 2011, about 5:38 a.m., a 1999 Prevost 56-passenger motorcoach, operated by World Wide Travel of Greater New York, headquartered in Brooklyn, was traveling southbound on Interstate 95, en route from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, to New York City, and carrying 32 passengers. While in the vicinity of mile marker 3.2, the motorcoach departed from the travel lanes to the right, driving over the rumble strips on the right shoulder edge. The motorcoach then crossed over the 10-foot-wide paved shoulder and struck a strong-post W-beam guardrail, traveling about 480...

On August 5, 2010, in Gray Summit, Missouri, traffic slowed in the approach to an active work zone on eastbound Interstate 44. A 2007 Volvo truck-tractor with no trailer was traveling in the right lane and had slowed or stopped behind traffic. About 10:11 a.m. central daylight time, a 2007 GMC Sierra extended cab pickup truck merged into the right lane and struck the rear of the Volvo tractor. This collision was the first in a series of three. Two school buses from St. James High School, St. James, Missouri, were approaching the slowed traffic and the collision ahead. The lead bus was a...

On March 26, 2010, near Munfordville, Kentucky, a truck-tractor semitrailer was traveling south on Interstate 65 (I-65) when it departed the left lane and entered the 60-foot-wide depressed earthen median between the southbound and northbound roadways. The truck traveled across the median and struck and overrode the high-tension median cable barrier adjacent to the left shoulder of northbound I-65. It then crossed the shoulder and entered the lanes of northbound I-65. A 15-passenger van, containing 12 occupants, was traveling northbound in the left lane. As the truck crossed in front of the...

About 1:19 p.m. on June 26, 2009, a multivehicle accident occurred on Interstate 44 (I-44) near Miami, Oklahoma, shortly after a minor accident in the vicinity had resulted in a traffic queue. A truck driver operating a Volvo truck-tractor in combination with an empty semitrailer was traveling eastbound in the outside lane of I-44. He did not react to the queue of slowing and stopped vehicles ahead and collided with the rear of a Land Rover sport utility vehicle (SUV). As both vehicles moved forward, the Land Rover struck a Hyundai Sonata and then departed the right lane and shoulder. The...

On Friday, January 30, 2009, about 4:06 p.m. mountain standard time, a 2007 Chevrolet/Starcraft 29-passenger medium-size bus, operated by DW Tour and Charter and occupied by the driver and 16 passengers, was traveling northbound in the right lane of U.S. Highway 93, a four-lane divided highway, near Dolan Springs, Arizona. The bus was on a return trip from Grand Canyon West to Las Vegas, Nevada, after a day-long tour. As the bus approached milepost 28 at an estimated speed of 70 mph, it moved to the left and out of its lane of travel. The driver steered sharply back to the right, crossing...

On January 2, 2008, about 4:13 am., a 2005 Volvo 47-passenger motorcoach carrying 47 passengers was proceeding northbound on U.S. Highway 59 (U.S. 59) about 5 miles south of Victoria, Texas, when the motorcoach driver partially drifted off the right edge of the roadway. As a result of the driver making a series of oversteers in an attempt to stay on the roadway, the motorcoach rotated counterclockwise and overturned onto its right side. The motorcoach's right rear struck a guardrail as the motorcoach slid on its right side approximately 112 feet before coming to rest across the roadway....

About 12:45 a.m. on August 8, 2008, a 56-passenger motorcoach was northbound on U.S. Highway 75 when it was involved in a single-vehicle accident in Sherman, Texas. The motorcoach was traveling in the right lane of the four-lane divided highway. As the motorcoach approached the Post Oak Creek near Sherman, its right steer axle tire failed. The motorcoach departed the roadway, overrode a 7-inch-high, 18-inch-wide concrete curb, and struck the metal bridge railing. After riding against the bridge railing for about 120 feet, the motorcoach went through the railing and off the bridge. It fell...

This document details the highway accident of a 2007 Motor Coach Industries 56-passenger motorcoach with a driver and 52 passengers on board traveling southbound, descending a 5.6-percent grade leading to a curve to the left, 1,800 feet north of milepost 29 on U.S. Route 163. After entering the curve, the motorcoach departed the right side of the roadway at a shallow angle, striking the guardrail with the right-rear wheel and lower coach body. The motorcoach traveled approximately 350 feet along the foreslope, with the right tires off the roadway. The back tires lost traction as the foreslope...

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, the eight-lane, 1,907-foot-long I-35W highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, experienced a catastrophic failure in the main span of the deck truss. Major safety issues identified in this investigation include insufficient bridge design firm quality control procedures for designing bridges, and insufficient Federal and State procedures for reviewing and approving bridge design plans and calculations; lack of guidance for bridge owners with regard to the placement of construction loads on bridges during repair or maintenance...