Summary
A transit bus driver rear-ended a passenger car on a snow-covered multi-lane urban road. Transit bus drivers have a higher duty of care owing to the fact that they have received significant training to reduce the possibility of a crash.
Defensive and winter driving, and air brake courses teach commercial drivers that they should follow with a minimum three-second following distance. Defensive driving training for commercial drivers puts in place skills and knowledge to mitigate the risk of a crash when other road users make mistakes, and when drivers of transit buses also make mistakes.
If conditions are less than ideal, commercial drivers should increase that following distance to five seconds. In the crash video, it can be seen that the driver was not observing and failed to identify “outs” to both the left and right. Further, the driver failed to increase the following distance when the forward vehicle zig-zagged laterally because it lost traction. Owing to both training and experience driving a larger vehicle as a full-time job in city traffic, commercial drivers are held to a higher standard of care.
Rick August, PhD
Working as as Expert Witness, Dr. August provides testimony in crash analysis, traffic safety, road user behavior, and driver education. His expertise is in commercial vehicles (trucks & buses), duty of care, and air brakes.
Driving Too Close in Winter Weather
(Crash Occurred Late December at 20:57)
Overview of Rear-End Crash
In 2017, on a multi-lane urban road, a transit bus driver followed a car.
The road was snow-covered.
It was dark.
The snowbank between the road and the sidewalk had been removed.
The car driver deposed that she lost control of the vehicle and it began to fishtail.
After releasing the accelerator and regaining control of the vehicle, she applied the brake and brought the vehicle to a stop.
The bus driver, following too close, rear-ended the car at low speed. [1]
Defense’s Argument – Abrupt Stop of Forward Vehicle
In a mediation report, defense claimed that the car driver was fifty percent liable for the car crash.
Defense asserted that Ms. Dumas “abruptly came to a stop in the middle of the road.”
Further in the document, they claimed that her vehicle wasn’t fitted with “winter tires”, infering that Ms. Dumas was irresponsible.[2]
On a snow-covered road, it’s difficult to bring a vehicle to an “abrupt” stop if it’s not fitted with dedicated snow tires.
The vehicle is going to slide.
For the driver to maintain control, she would have had to brake gently and with ease.
Bus Driver Failed to Observe & Interpret
The bus driver admitted that he failed to recognize the telltale sign that the forward driver was having challenges driving in the snow.
Owing to the fishtailing of the forward vehicle, he should have applied the brakes and increased his following distance.[3]
The fishtailing is a telltale sign of a driver not competent to drive in snow and slippery conditions.
Further, the cause of Ms. Dumas’ vehicle skidding was not the application of the brakes.
The vehicle lost traction and skidded as a result of acceleration.
She applied the brakes and stopped after the vehicle lost traction.
Ms. Dumas stopped due to her inexperience and loss of composure from the car skidding.[4]
Bus Driver Errors
In the short 25-second video of the crash, the bus driver looked straight ahead for the thirteen seconds preceding the collision.
At no point did the driver shoulder check or look in his mirrors.
The driver stares straight ahead and has tunnel vision in the moments preceding the crash.
Further, the video clearly shows that the driver had an escape route to both the right and left.
It their professional driver training, transit personnel are taught to “always leave an out.”[5]
This technique indicates that it’s faster to drive out of an emergency situation than it is to brake.
However, to drive out of an emergency situation, there must be space in which to drive.
Most importantly, as soon as the bus driver saw the forward vehicle lose traction and veer out of a straight line, he should have increased his following distance from three seconds to five seconds.
The 2010 Mazda 3 was a front wheel drive vehicle. Only rear-wheel drive vehicles fishtail. On slippery conditions, the Mazda would have experienced a power-oversteer situation owing to loss of traction.
Professional Drivers “Leaving An Out” in the Event of an Emergency
The transit driver had two other options that may have prevented the rear-end crash.
Between one and eight seconds in the video a car passes the bus on the left side.
At the point of impact—thirteen seconds—another vehicle can be seen drawing alongside the bus, but only because the bus slow and came to a stop.
Immediately prior to the crash, the vehicle was behind the bus and the driver could have maneuvered the bus to the left to avoid striking the forward vehicle.
As well, driving onto the empty sidewalk to avoid the collision was an option.
A less desirable option, but still an option.
Rear-ending the forward car jeopardized the safety of the passengers in the vehicle.
Contrary to the defense claiming that the bus driver: “had no other evasive options available to him as the Transit Footage shows traffic in the immediate lane to the left of the curb lane and breaking [sic] too abruptly could have posed serious risk or injury to the passengers on the bus.”
Legal Authorities are NOT Driving Experts
Both points—the driver neither had an escape, nor could he slam on the brakes—are inaccurate.
There wasn’t traffic in the immediate lane to the left of the curb lane.
And because there wasn’t the driver failed to identify an escape.
Further, even if there was a vehicle to the bus’ left, and sideswipe crash at low speed poses far less risk to the passengers on the bus than rear-ending the forward vehicle.[6]
Also, the bus driver did in fact, abruptly apply the brake too hard when he realized that a crash was imminent.
Veteran drivers make a hard brake application instinctively when they realize that the forward vehicle has come to a stop and a collision is imminent.
It’s done to reduce the severity of impact and subsequent injuries to vehicle occupants.
Legal Precedent Cited by Defense is Null
In addition to claims that aren’t substantiated by evidence, the legal precedent cited by defense counsel is irrelevant in this particular case.
None of the rear-end crashes cited involved a commercial vehicle.
In addition, only one of the crashes—McCarroll v. Anderson, 1994—occurred in the early spring during icy conditions on a downhill descent.
Courts ruled that the forward vehicle was 75% at fault owing to the Plaintiff losing control because he applied the brake on an icy downhill.
The crash between the transit bus and the car occurred on a level snow-covered road.
Further negating this case as legal precedent, defense suggested the collision was similar because the lead driver lost control of his vehicle after braking on the icy downhill.
In the crash involving the bus, the lead driver applied the brakes AFTER losing control of her vehicle due to poor traction.
The Mazda 3 driven by Ms. Dumas was front-wheel drive.
She lost control of her vehicle due to a power over-steer.
Because of her lack of winter driving experience, was panicked.
Upon regaining control of the vehicle, she stopped to regain her composure.
Most Car Drivers Receive NO Formal Winter Driver Training
Unlike drivers of passenger vehicles, transit bus drivers are trained in winter and defensive driving, and air brakes to name but a few of the driver training courses in which they undergo.[7]
Car drivers on the other hand—if they took their driver’s license test in the spring, summer, or fall—may have never encountered winter driving.
This issue could be further exacerbated by first-generation immigrants who previously drove in another country for many years that doesn’t experience winter.
These drivers receive no formal training to drive on slippery, snow-covered roads.
Transit Personnel Receive A LOT of Driver Training
Transit bus drivers, on the other hand, receive a significant amount of training specific to defensive and winter driving.[8]
In addition, they receive daily and weekly updates concerning weather and other road conditions from the transit authority and its safety department.
From the video, it can be determined that the bus driver was following at a distance of three seconds.
In inclement weather, professional drivers should maintain a five-second following distance to increase their margin of safety.[9]
In doing so, the professional driver can compensate for the errors of others on the roadway, and provide increased safety for passengers.[10]
Professional Drivers Are Held to a Higher Duty of Care
Defensive driving practices are put in place by professional drivers and fleets to both compensate for the errors of other road users, and also for when the driver makes mistakes.
When driving in snow and ice, it’s even more probable that another driver is going to do something unexpected ie lose control of their vehicle, go into a skid, or bring their vehicle to an unexpected stop.[11]
Professional driver have received both the training, and possess the experience to recognize when other drivers are going to or are doing something unexpected.
Even if professional drivers misread the traffic situation, it’s imperative that they have ample following distance in place to bring their vehicle to a stop in the event of an emergency.
More importantly, they preserve the safety of their passengers.
Conclusion
All drivers possess a duty of care to themselves and other road users.
Professional commercial drivers have a higher duty of care owing to their training and responsibility in driving a larger vehicle.
If transit drivers aren’t trained to get their commercial license by the company for which they work, they go to a truck driving school.
There they receive training in operating a larger vehicle, air brakes, and defensive driving.
When hired by a transit authority, most bus drivers undergo another six to eight weeks of training before working.
A significant portion of this training is focused on defensive driving.
This defensive driver training translates into increased customer service. [12]
Additionally, transit drivers receive ongoing updates and training from the company’s safety department.
If required, many will undergo remedial training if there is a driving incident.
On the other hand, drivers of passenger vehicles seldom receive any training beyond that what happened when they earned their driver’s license. They prepared for and underwent a test issued by the licensing authority. [13]
Some, but not many, may take a defensive or winter driving course.
Owing to their training and daily experience driving, commercial drivers are held to a higher standard of care than those drivers of passenger vehicles.
In this case of the transit driver rear-ending a passenger vehicle on level ground on snow-covered roads, the transit driver is 100% liable owing to his neglect in maintaining a safe following distance of five seconds.
