NTSB Summary - HAR-00/02

Highway Accident Report
School Bus and Dump Truck Collision
Central Bridge, New York
October 21, 1999

NTSB Number HAR-00/02
NTIS Number PB2000-916202
PDF Document (573K)
Animations

Summary: About 10:30 a.m. on October 21, 1999, in Schoharie County, New York, a Kinnicutt Bus Company school bus was transporting 44 students, 5 to 9 years old, and 8 adults on an Albany City School No. 18 field trip. The bus was traveling north on State Route 30A as it approached the intersection with State Route 7, which is about 1.5 miles east of Central Bridge, New York. Concurrently, an MVF Construction Company dump truck, towing a utility trailer, was traveling west on State Route 7. The dump truck was occupied by the driver and a passenger. As the bus approached the intersection, it failed to stop as required and was struck by the dump truck. Seven bus passengers sustained serious injuries; 28 bus passengers and the truckdriver received minor injuries. Thirteen bus passengers, the busdriver, and the truck passenger were uninjured.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the school bus driver’s failure to stop for the stop sign due to his degraded performance or lapse of attention as a result of factors associated with aging or his medical condition or both.

The following major safety issues were identified in this accident:

the potential for passenger injuries as a result of the school bus emergency exit door design,
the potential for passenger injuries as a result of school bus seat cushion bottoms that are removable or hinged,
and the adequacy of commercial vehicle airbrake inspections.

The medical fitness of commercial drivers and the medical examination for the commercial driver’s license were also identified as safety issues; however, these issues will be analyzed in a forthcoming Safety Board special investigation report.

As a result of this accident investigation, the Safety Board makes recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, the Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations, and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. In addition, safety recommendations are being reiterated to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.