A school bus carrying 34 kids was hit by a pickup truck in Darlington, South Carolina (SC). The pickup truck ran a stop sign at the intersection of Oleander Drive and Lawson Road after school got out, according to wmbfnews.com. Eleven kids were injured.
As the father of two kids, I hate to hear about these types of accidents. This wreck may have been prevented if the pickup truck driver had been more vigilant.
This accident highlights the importance of responsible driving behavior when approaching an intersection. According to a study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2004 , roughly 20 percent of fatal car crashes were due to not adhering to a traffic signal and 13 percent of the crashes were due to not yielding the right-of-way. Overall, the risk of getting involved in a car wreck is 1.5 times higher at a stop sign than at a traffic signal.
The driver of the pickup truck certainly failed to follow the proper procedure at a stop sign (i.e. actually stopping). But why did the driver fail to stop? The answer isn’t known at this time. They may have been distracted. Many drivers get into serious accidents when they talk on their cell phone or text and drive. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called distracted driving an “epidemic. ” Our firm has been greatly concerned over this issue and we recently released a consumer report about the most common factors leading to distracted driving (take advantage of the free download here).
The kids injured in the bus/truck crash were treated at Pee Dee Hospital . There hasn’t been an update as to their condition at this time.