On June 5, 1980, about 12:47 a.m., a northbound Central Texas Bus Lines, Inc., charter bus occupied by the driver and 32 passengers accelerated out of control while descending a long, curved, steep grade on State Route 7 about 1 mile south of Jasper, Arkansas. The bus failed to negotiate a left curve, and ran off the right pavement edge into a drainage channel. The bus continued for 280 feet, impacted a berm at a concrete culvert, was redirected across the highway, and vaulted down a steep embankment. Twenty bus occupants, including the driver, were killed and 13 passengers were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a combination of circumstances which resulted in the driver's inability to control the bus as it descended a steep, winding grade. These circumstances included driver fatigue, reduced fuel flow from a nonstandard fuel pump which adversely affected the busdriver's ability to downshift, and the improperly maintained airbrake system. Contributing to the accident was the management decision which permitted dispatching of a driver with inadequate time to complete the trip within permissible hours and the carrier's inadequate preventive maintenance program for this bus.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Highway Accident Report - Central Texas Bus Lines, Inc., Charter Bus, State Route 7 Near Jasper, Arkansas, June 5, 1980


    Publication date :

    1981


    Size :

    46 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English