CNN TV Hour Special on the Bluffton Accident

Seat belts ought to be a must, but after seeing that exit ramp one has to wonder what the bus driver must have been thinking. I almost have to believe he fell asleep at least for a fatal moment.

I watched that on CNN tonight. This inicident hits close to home as many of us in the baseball community travel often on these buses. I was surprised to hear, in a good way, that only 10 people per year die in bus crashes in the US. With all of the traveling that goes on I thought that number would be much higher. As far as the seat belts saving these players lives, I do not think that would have been the case. It is true that IF they were wearing them they MIGHT have been saved. However, they were on an 18 hour trip and the chances of them actually sitting with their seat belts on (if the bus had them) would be very, very slim. It was very early in the morning and most of the people on the bus were asleep. I'm sure that if there were seat belts, the players would not continue to sit with them buckled and sleep sitting up. The majority of people, myself included, would undue the seatbelt and get into a more comfortable position to sleep in.

This was a tragic event and I my prayers go out to everyone that was involved or affected by this.

I wish I hadn't missed it.

Bus fell nearly 30 feet and landed on the concrete highway below. It appeared to be nearly drivable afterward. It had a full gas tank, but no fire broke out. A few kids in the bus and some who were ejected onto the highway (and not crushed by the bus itself) were nearly uninjured. That should be soothing to baseball parents.

The ramp had a huge straight white arrow painted on it and later the words "stop." While no one mentioned that arrow, it would indicate to me that the road straight ahead was clear and speed should be maintained. Actually vehicles are approaching a dangerous "T" intersection, the site of several previous accidents and should be preparing to come to a full stop.

The baseball team comes off very well in the show. While they never made it to their Fort Meyers tournament destination, there was general agreement that play should resume as soon as possible.

quote:

Originally posted by jemaz:
Seat belts ought to be a must, but after seeing that exit ramp one has to wonder what the bus driver must have been thinking. I almost have to believe he fell asleep at least for a fatal moment.

I've driven that road 20+ times on my way to Florida and can understand what the bus driver experienced. I think there's another place just S of there where the HOV lane splits off to the L and goes off by itself before rejoining.

I wonder if the bus driver thought he was at that point on the road.

SSM,
I caught a repeat CNN late night, they will show it again this week. I cried.

thepainguy,
Another trip to see son this weekend, flying into Atlanta, if I had not been there many times before, I would be confused. My daughter lived in Atlanta, and most everyone in that area KNOWS how crazy and confusing that exit is.
If I am not mistaken the HOV exit is AFTER that exit?
The reason this story is so tragic, is that private bus transportation is the safest, with very few incidents. This was clearly an example of how crazy and confusing it is there.
I don't think that seatbelts would not have saved the lives lost, as those that died were sitting on the left side of the bus which was the impact side.

If you watch the broadcast, I tuned in a bit late, there was a s****r player from the same school, I do beleive that she mentioned that they had made a mistake on that same exit?

There was a change of drivers just outside of Atlanta.

Another sad thing, there are no federal regulations on HOV signs, bet there will be now.

quote:

Originally posted by Tiger Paw Mom:
Another trip to see son this weekend, flying into Atlanta, if I had not been there many times before, I would be confused. My daughter lived in Atlanta, and most everyone in that area KNOWS how crazy and confusing that exit is.
If I am not mistaken the HOV exit is AFTER that exit?

I think so.

The exit where the accident happened is just N of downtown and I think you're right that the HOV exit is just a little bit farther South. I wouldn't be surprised if the driver confused the two (I think I have in the past).

I get nervous as heck driving through Atlanta. You really have to pay attention.

P.S. I just checked on Google Earth and we were right. The next left exit (1/4 mile or so farther S) is where the HOV lane breaks off for a mile or so and then rejoins the road.

Coordinates of the next exit are:

33 47 52.67 N, 84 23 44.66 W

Boy, I would be confused. I hear all these references to "HOV" lanes. I didn't know what those letters meant until the CNN broadcast translated that for us small-towners.

Does Atlanta realize that 95% of Americans don't live near areas with "High Occupancy Vehicle" lanes?

quote:

Originally posted by thepainguy:
P.S. I just checked on Google Earth and we were right. The next left exit (1/4 mile or so farther S) is where the HOV lane breaks off for a mile or so and then rejoins the road.

Coordinates of the next exit are:

33 47 52.67 N, 84 23 44.66 W

As I'm a huge usability freak, I've been looking at this accident more and I can write the NTSB's report for them (and I'll be mad as heck if they blame the driver).

The fault is really with whoever designed the highway (and to a lesser degree the signage of the T-exit). They got too cute/tricky and it cost at least 7 people their lives.

In that part of Atlanta, there are two left exits in a row on SB 75. The first, Northern exit, is a T-intersection where the accident happened.

At the second exit, 1/4 mile or so farther South, the 3 left lanes (including the left-most HOV lane) all appear to exit. The right 2 of the 3 lanes do in fact exit and then reverse direction to join a Northbound road. However, the left-most HOV lane continues South and then rejoins the highway about a 1/2 mile South of where it split off. Following this route allows you to cut a (sometimes congested) corner and is a nice little trick if you know about it. However, you have to pay attention because it looks and feels like you are exiting the highway.

This "fake" exit kind of freaked me out the first time I followed it because I've never seen anything like it before.

All of this explains the driver's late reaction. He thought he was getting off at the second, "fake" exit when in reality he was getting off at the first, T-exit.

Painguy,
On my way to work here in South Florida at one part heading N on 95, in Palm Beach County, the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles) ends, without much warning. It just merges into the left lane. I do beleive there have been incidents, because they have widened the left hand lane.
Knowing that area in Atlanta, the mess of 75, 85, and 285 (I think that's it), anyone could have been confused.
In Atlanta there is a place ( I think where the accident occured) where all of the roads loop above and below each other, called spaghetti junction by the locals, people are afraid of it (I know I am).
Shame, just a real shame.

I saw on CNN this am that this morning at 9am they are closing that exit to install larger stop signs and repaint the warning signs on the road.

A GDOT spokesperson said that the sign on the highways are not clear, but they are not going ot do anything about that yet (why not). He also said, takes a tragedy like this to bring attention.

TPM - your right - the city is making some changes but refuses to take accoutability - they point out that everything is within federal guidelines - dumb but true. If any of you are just passing thru Atlanta, take the 285 bypass - still a lot of traffic and everyone is going at least 70 (55 zone). Speghitti junction is interesting - if you are coming east on 285 and are getting on 85 N, the bridge brings you several hundred feet up in the air - my kids think its cool but I hate it.

Part of the problem is 75 and 85 merge into one road downtown. Two major highways - again dumb. PS: traffic is heavy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you live here you learn the back roads.

quote:

Originally posted by Tiger Paw Mom:
I saw on CNN this am that this morning at 9am they are closing that exit to install larger stop signs and repaint the warning signs on the road.

A GDOT spokesperson said that the sign on the highways are not clear, but they are not going ot do anything about that yet (why not). He also said, takes a tragedy like this to bring attention.

I'll be on that road Friday night (on my way to DisneyWorld) so I'll report back.

We lived in Atlanta for years and I'm very familiar with this exit. This "HOV" exit is so poorly marked as an exit. There are HOV lanes that leave and rejoin the main roads in multiple places. Imagine the driver cruising along at highway speed (at least 70 in ATL) believing he is on an HOV overpass or bypass lane only to reach the crest of the hill and at the last minute (when the players report hearing the driver's wife scream) he realizes he just exited the highway and ran out of road. No time to react/brake--- just sailing over the low concrete barrier of the "T" intersection, where other cars have made the same mistake but were too low profile to be carried over the edge to the interstate below. I'm so sad and ANGRY--- they (the Experts) should have seen this or the potential for it coming. Inadequate signage, no warning strips to slow down or stop ahead, no light at intersection. Just police that line up during rush hour to ticket cars without enough passengers. I'm sorry, this just has me so upset---senseless loss of life and others still hospitalized with long recoveries. Bureaucratic BS still when it comes to making it right.