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Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said the crash, which sheared
off the right side of the bus and injured 12 aboard, was
preventable.
“Our investigation brought to light a critical shortage of safe
truck parking and made clear a painful lesson: Until we address
this important safety issue, lives are at risk on our nation’s
roads,” she said.
Truck parking on rest stop entrance and exit ramps is illegal,
but the ban is seldom enforced because there’s insufficient
parking for the 13 million rigs on the nation’s roads and the
federal government electronically monitors truckers’ hours on
the road and their rest periods.
The board, meeting in Washington, also cited the bus driver’s
fatigue and “deficient driver oversight by Greyhound,” including
the company’s failure to address the driver’s “recurring unsafe
driving behaviors.” Records compiled during the investigation
showed the driver had been involved in four prior accidents, two
of which were deemed preventable, and an electronic monitor
caught him driving over the speed limit on repeated occasions.
A spokesman said via email that “Greyhound Lines has fully
cooperated with the NTSB since the beginning of this
investigation” but declined further comment, citing ongoing
litigation.
The westbound bus, with 22 passengers, entered the rest area
near Highland, 32 miles (about 51 kilometers) east of St. Louis
at 1:48 a.m. on July 12, 2023. It slid along the sides of three
trucks parked for the night.
None of the truck drivers was hurt, but three bus passengers
were killed and the bus driver and 11 other passengers were
injured.
The report also noted that injuries could have been minimized if
more passengers had been wearing safety belts provided. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted a rule in
2019 requiring commercial buses to have seatbelts for the driver
and every passenger. Illinois law requires the use of seatbelts.
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