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 had left Houston, Texas, about 8:30 p.m. on August 7, 2008, with a driver and 55 passengers onboard, en route to Carthage, Missouri. Before the crash, 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 about 8 feet and slid on its right side before coming to rest on the inclined earthen bridge abutment adjacent to the creek. As a result of the accident, 17 motorcoach passengers died, the motorcoach driver received serious injuries, and 38 passengers received minor-to-serious injuries. The major safety issues identified in the accident investigation included the need for tire pressure monitoring systems on commercial vehicles; the need for criteria for the selection of bridge railing designs; the lack of oversight of the Federal commercial vehicle inspections delegated to the states; the lack of motorcoach occupant protection systems; and the deficiencies in Federal safety oversight of new entrant motor carriers. As a result of its investigation, the NTSB makes recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, and Motor Coach Industries, Inc. The NTSB also reiterates previous recommendations to the FMCSA and NHTSA.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    National Transportation Safety Board Highway Accident Report: Motorcoach Run-Off-the-Bridge and Rollover, Near Sherman, Texas, on August 8, 2008


    Publication date :

    2009


    Size :

    82 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English