NTSB Synopsis Report on January 30, 2009 Bus Accident near Dolan Springs, AZ
NTSB issued a synopsis of their report on the bus loss of control and rollover that occurred near Dolan Springs, Arizona on January 30, 2009. A 2007 Chevrolet/Starcraft 29-passenger medium-size bus, operated by DW Tour and Charter and occupied by the driver and 16 passengers, was traveling northbound in the right lane of U.S. Highway 93 on a return trip from Grand Canyon West to Las Vegas, Nevada after a day-long tour. As the bus approached milepost 28 at an estimated speed of 70 mph, it moved to the left and out of its lane of travel. The driver steered sharply back to the right, crossing both northbound lanes and entering the right shoulder. The driver subsequently overcorrected to the left, causing the bus to yaw and cross both northbound lanes. The bus then entered the depressed earthen median and overturned 1.25 times before coming to rest on its right side across both southbound lanes. This report includes conclusions, probable cause, new recommendations, and previously issued recommendations. This report does not include the Board’s rationale for the conclusions, probable cause, and safety recommendations. Safety Board staff is currently making final revisions to the report from which the attached conclusions and recommendations have been extracted. The final report and pertinent safety recommendation letters will be distributed to recommendation recipients as soon as possible.
What People are Saying
Over the last two years, FTA has focused on laying the foundation for the Bus Safety and Security Program. It partnered with AASHTO, CTAA and APTA to establish basic program elements, worked with State DOTs to identify how best the Program could help State sub-recipients and continues to coordinate with all stakeholders to improve outreach and assistance. Thanks to our partnerships, we have conducted 13 State DOT Orientation Seminars and 29 Voluntary Onsite Reviews. Feedback from these efforts has been fantastic. Here’s a sampling of what people are saying:
“The New Hampshire DOT hosted the first FTA Bus Safety & Security Program Orientation Seminar. The orientation was well attended, well received and very informative. The orientation was extremely insightful; the project staff was very passionate and knowledgeable and helped to elevate bus safety and security in the eyes of NH’s transit operators. The FTA Project Team has been very helpful, accessible and resourceful. I have run into these knowledgeable people several times over the last few years at various transit functions and have always walked away confident in the integrity of the Bus Safety & Security Program and the passion these individuals have for the project. Project Team staff returned to NH to conduct a voluntary onsite review at COAST (Dover, NH) and attend and participate in the Tri-State Transit Conference hosted by Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont DOTs. Usually new federal programs are met with resistance and skepticism, however, due in large part to the professional, passionate and proactive manner in which this program was introduced to NH’s transit providers, the program is welcomed and commended. It is a good feeling to know that as a small rural state, your needs aren’t being neglected by a national program which many times has a large urban feel-this program is truly scalable and meaningful to NH and all its transit providers, large and small.”
Shelley Winters
Public Transportation Administrator
Bureau of Rail & Transit
New Hampshire Department of Transportation
“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for selecting Alabama to host the recent Bus Safety and Security Program Orientation Seminar. The seminar was very well received by public transportation providers in Alabama. The feedback from the participants has been very positive. I am truly amazed that the program has so very much to offer rural transit agencies. The web site is awesome. It contains an abundance of useful resources available to rural transit providers. I commend FTA for all of the hard work that has gone into this effort. Thank you again for choosing Alabama as one of the host sites for this very enlightening seminar.”
Joe Nix
Senior Transportation Planner
Alabama Department of Transportation
Bureau of Transportation Planning and Modal Programs
“The NYSDOT/PTSB hosted the FTA’s Safety and Security Orientation Seminar in Syracuse, NY. This also included a two day review of the Centro bus system in Syracuse. Ream Lazaro represented the FTA and presented the workshop to about 55 NYS transit systems from areas throughout New York. Ream did an outstanding job discussing the needs for bus systems to become part of the FTA’s program by joining the web program and expanding security and emergency preparedness activities. NYS has required SSPP’s since 1984, and recently moved to enhance security and emergency preparedness within their SSPP’s. The site review was also done both professionally and with a great deal of industry knowledge such that Ream was able to convey reasonable and effective improvements to an already well run system. I know that from speaking to the folks at Centro that they, as well as my staff who were present at the review, gained useful information to make improvements.”
John Fabian
Chief Investigator
New York State Department of Transportation
Public Transportation Safety Board
“Regarding the FTA Bus Safety & Security Program, Utah providers that have been involved in this project have found the program useful to their agencies. The following are statements from the agency that participated: 1) The self assessment is a useful tool especially that you can start and stop the process as you have time; 2) The resource library provides useful information so that an agency doesn’t have to start from scratch with ideas; 3) It has also been helpful that the library continues to grow with new material; and 4) While we haven’t used the forums a ton yet, they are a great idea. Overall the website is a wonderful tool that gives agencies a starting point with projects. It has many useful tools that can broaden the exposure the agency has to the project they are working on. This will continue to be a tool we use in the future.”
B. Leone Gibson
Director
Public Transit Plans & Programs
Utah Department of Transportation
“I recently had the opportunity to attend the Bus Safety & Security Program Orientation Seminar in Huron, SD. After serving on the FTA Working Group for this project, I was anxious to see the outcomes that were being rolled out to the states in the orientation seminar at this time. To say that I was excited by the results would be an understatement. One of the transit agencies was present that had participated in a site review. She spoke about that experience and responded to questions from the group. She stated that it had been a very positive experience for her organization. She also spoke about the benefits that she believed they had gained from the visit and recommendations that were made. After listening to the results, I think many there wished that they could have been chosen for a site review as well. The site reviews were a great idea! As you probably already know, the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center serves as a resource center for transit systems across the country. Seldom does a day go by when we do not receive a call asking for a reference for training materials, policies and procedures, examples of forms, etc. We serve as a link for those providers to existing resources, and, where there are none, work at developing them to meet needs. The Bus Safety & Security Program website will be a “Godsend” to transit projects across the U.S.”
Carol R. Wright
Associate Director of Training and Outreach
Small Urban & Rural Transit Center
Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
North Dakota State University
“Last year’s Onsite Review under the FTA Bus Safety & Security Program was very useful to us here in Altoona. While there were many things that we were doing well, the review helped us identify some areas that needed improvement. The review team was an excellent resource for safety and security best practices as is the new website. A transit system our size does not have a full-time position devoted to Safety and Security, so a focused review on those areas was extremely helpful in identifying and remediating our weak spots.”
Eric Wolf
General Manager
AMTRAN
Altoona, PA
“Caltrans Headquarters staff requested that the FCRTA volunteer to participate in an FTA Bus Safety & Security Program Onsite Review of our existing Bus Safety and Security Programs. We were told that the FCRTA was the first transit operator in California to be evaluated under a new Federal Transit Administration program. We understood that the FTA had recognized that transit operators needed technical assistance to address the comprehensive elements of a Bus Safety and Security Program. Ream Lazaro visited the FCRTA for two (2) full days. FCRTA Staff responded to comprehensive in-depth question and answer Sessions to determine current practices and procedures. Our existing Safety and Security documents were reviewed, analyzed, and critiqued. Additionally, on-site visits were made to our Contractors for driver/dispatcher personnel services and maintenance. Records were reviewed; procedures were explained and questioned to determine the extent of our programs. Improvement suggestions were explained and well received by the personnel. Ream sent a comprehensive evaluation report of his finding, with suggested corrective actions and a CD of numerous practical computer file examples for our consideration. The materials were extremely beneficial to us in improving our programs. The matter was brought to the attention of the FCRTA Board of Directors. They expressed sincere appreciation for the “no-cost assessment with specific suggestions” for our program improvements.”
Jeffrey D. Webster
General Manager
Fresno County Rural Transit Agency
Fresno, CA
“Here is my take of the on-the FTA Bus Safety & Security Program Onsite Review: 1) Very valuable for rural agencies especially in lower population states where access to information and review is very limited; 2) Makes agency realize possible issues that might occur that the agency did not prepare for since they never had the issue happen locally; 3) Unbiased eyes for truthful assessment of current procedures and information for improvement; 4)Provides information of how other agencies of similar size handle issues: 5)Does not compare small transit agencies to urban systems as a “one size fits all” concept; 6) the report and the technical assistance materials provided were an excellent source of policies for the rural system. “
Gary W. Parsons
Transit Services Manager
Havasu Area Transit
Lake Havasu City, AZ