5 killed as 78 year old bus driver hits jackknifed semi

"B1ackwater" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 16:19:31 -0500, "MaryL"
> -OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote:
>
>>
>>"B1ackwater" > wrote in message
.. .
>>> On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:28:21 -0500, "MaryL"
>>> -OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>"laura bush - VEHICULAR HOMICIDE" > wrote in
>>>>message
m...
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9718085/
>>>>>
>>>>> 5 killed in Wisconsin school bus crash
>>>>> 29 injured in morning collision with tractor-trailer; NTSB
>>>>>
>>>>> Updated: 6:43 p.m. ET Oct. 16, 2005
>>>>> OSSEO, Wis. - A bus carrying high school students home from a band
>>>>> competition crashed into a tractor-trailer that had jackknifed on
>>>>> the
>>>>> interstate early Sunday, killing four adults and an 11-year-old
>>>>> girl,
>>>>> officials said.
>>>>>
>>>>> Twenty-nine others were injured, some seriously, troopers said.
>>>>>
>>>>> The semi had gone off the shoulder of Interstate 94 and jackknifed,
>>>>> and was blocking the westbound lane, Wisconsin State Patrol Capt.
>>>>> Douglas Notbohm said.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I don't know how much opportunity there was for braking action,"
>>>>> he
>>>>> said. The bus slammed into the overturned truck, but it didn't roll
>>>>> or
>>>>> catch fire, patrol spokesman Brent Pickard said.
>>>>>
>>>>> (snip)
>>>>>
>>>>> Bus driver Paul Rasmus, 78, of Chippewa Falls, died in the crash.
>>>>> The
>>>>> identities of the other victims - two men, ages 48 and 24, a
>>>>> 51-year-old woman and the girl - were withheld pending notification
>>>>> of
>>>>> their families.
>>>>>
>>>>> The semi driver, employed by Whole Foods Market Group of Munster,
>>>>> Ind., was en route from Indiana to Minnesota, Notbohm said. The
>>>>> driver
>>>>> was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
>>>>>
>>>>> Officials didn't know why the truck went off the shoulder and
>>>>> overturned. The driver told investigators he had not fallen asleep,
>>>>> Notbohm said, and Pickard said the road was dry at the time of the
>>>>> crash.
>>>>>
>>>>> --------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>> Hell, this happened on a freeway where you can always see a problem
>>>>> like this in time to stop. Wonder if this geezer driver just froze
>>>>> up
>>>>> or maybe he had a heart attack. Lettting a guy this old drive a
>>>>> school bus sounds kinda stupid to me.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>You infer that the age of the bus driver was a factor. It may have
>>>>been,
>>>>but I don't see any evidence of that in the reports that have been
>>>>printed
>>>>so far. The truck apparently jackknifed *in front of* the bus, and
>>>>that
>>>>seems to be a much more obvious cause. The article says the semi
>>>>went off
>>>>the shoulder and overturned, but that type of accident could also
>>>>involve
>>>>part of the actual road surface. That is, it isn't necessarily the
>>>>type
>>>>of
>>>>accident where a driver following behind could move to the side and
>>>>avoid
>>>>the accident. I do wonder if excessive speed or following too close
>>>>were
>>>>factors (again, nothing in the article to indicate this as yet).
>>>
>>> It was a freeway - of COURSE everybody was driving really fast
>>> and following too closely.
>>>
>>> As for 'visibility' - in freeway driving you have to compromise
>>> your attentions somewhat. You can't JUST scan the horizon for
>>> overturned trucks because you must also keep a finer track on
>>> vehicles in your immediate vicinity. If anyone switches lanes,
>>> speeds up, slows down or does anything to draw attention to
>>> themselves, all nearby drivers have to stop looking far ahead
>>> and pay attention to the proximate vehicle.
>>>
>>
>>Basically, I agree (although I certainly *try* to *increase* my
>>attention
>>during freeway driving because it can be so dangerous).
>
> Hey, I ride motorcycles pretty much exclusively ... so
> TELL me about it !
>
>>However, the point
>>I was trying to make is that there is no reason (based on current
>>reports)
>>to blame the accident on the bus driver's age. I added some "possible"
>>additional factors, but I hope it was clear from my response that I
>>think
>>the primary (and perhaps only) cause was the fact that the semi
>>jackknifed.
>
> I wouldn't jump on the drivers age either. Older drivers can
> be very sharp and experienced - or soft in the noggin. Some
> states don't seem to care one way or another - 'retirement'
> states are the worst in that respect.
>
> Note too that bus drivers have to FURTHER sub-divide their
> attention, not only watching traffic near and far but ALSO
> trying to manage a busload of punks at the same time. Easy
> to miss an approaching threat for a critical few seconds ...
>

You guys are all idiots or pretending to be idiots. The accident
occurred at 2 in the morning on a unlighted stretch of freeway. The
truck jacknifed and was laying on its side blocking both lanes. The kids
were mostly asleep. This was the lead bus in a convoy returning from a
competition. The truck driver was 22 and reportedly had a suspended
driver's license.

If there was a wall that suddenly appeared on the freeway in the middle
of the night, could all you always stop by the time you noticed the dark
shape in your headlights? Remember they don't put lights or reflectors
on the bottom of a trailer.

Crosspost list looks a little troll oriented so I trimmed. Hard to see
what this has to do with politics.