"Yet Another School Bus Accident" School started just a couple of weeks ago and already we've had three serious bus accidents here in our borough. On September 10th a school bus struck and killed a bicyclist in park slope. Then on September 12th I remember rushing over to Bensonhurst because a school bus carrying special needs students plowed into a building. Two students and two drivers were hurt in the crash. Today I found myself with a bit of déjà vu. Again, I rushed to Bensonhurst for a school bus crash. The driver pulled an illegal u-turn but missed, ramming into a parked car and hitting two homes. Witnesses told me the bus was going between thirty and forty miles per hour. The force was so strong it sent a crack up the side of one of the homes. In all three incidents there was nothing wrong with the buses. So what is the problem? Why are there so many accidents? Those are the questions on the minds of people I've met in the neighborhoods where these accidents have happened. Drivers do have to go through a rigorous process in order to get their license to operate a bus in the city. There's a long class involved, a thorough background check and of course a commercial driving test. This page has the list of exactly what these drivers need to have if they want to get behind the wheel of a school bus. http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/Transportation/VendorResources/DriverInformation/default.htm
But the people I spoke with think clearly it's not enough if these accidents keep happening. What also outraged people about today's accident-- the driver was wearing a cell phone earpiece. And witnesses on the scene told me he was talking on it at the time he crashed. I'm not sure if this is a fact or fiction-- the driver refused to answer my questions. When I asked him if he was the bus driver he responded "I don't know." (The police assured me he was.) Speaking of the police, they did not summons or ticket this driver for his illegal u-turn. I did call the bus company, which is privately run by the United Talmudical Academy of Borough Park just to see if they were investigating the incident or suspending the driver. No luck- they said no one would be able to comment until next week. The good news, no one was hurt in today's accident. But people there say it was just lucky no one was outside. And they don't want to wait for another person to get hurt. So that community in Bensonhurst says they're going to take the matter up with the community board, the school and the bus companies. Stay tuned!