California Tour Bus Accident

ntsb.gov, May 12, 2006

Intercity Tour Bus Loss of Control and Rollover into River Walker, California: 21 Killed, 20 Injured

A southbound intercity charter bus operated by Starline Sightseeing Tours went out of control while negotiating an S-curve on U.S. Route 395 about 11 miles south of Walker, California. The bus crossed the centerline, swerved back and forth several times, hit a rock fence, crossed into the northbound lane and overturned, landing on its roof in the West Walker River. Twenty-one passengers were killed; the driver and 19 passengers were injured.

Probable Cause: The failure of the charter busdriver to comply with highway speed limits and advisory speed signs and to reduce the bus speed sufficiently to negotiate safely the S-curve on U.S. Route 395. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate screening and supervision of the busdriver by the motor carrier.

Dissent: Board Member Burnett filed a dissent saying that he believed the driver's failure to apply his service brakes during the accident sequence may have resulted from his being tired because of his extended duty time before the accident and that fatigue cannot be ruled out as an accident factor.

Recommendations: The Safety Board issued three recommendations to the following recipients: Federal Highway Administration (H-87-36 and -37) and Department of Transportation (H-87-38). The Board reiterated one recommendation to the Federal Highway Administration (H-80-16).