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It was reported that a minimum of ten persons were injured in an accident involving a tour bus. While a Florida car accident lawyer regularly sees uninsured/underinsured motorist accidents and hit-and-run collisions, accidents involving tour buses do not occur frequently. Nevertheless, like crashes with tractor-trailers as well as other commercial cars, such collisions usually result in fatal and severe injuries.

Looking at it from a legal perspective, accidents involving commercial vehicles are always very complex cases, especially when the victims involved are much. It was reported that a vehicle was moving in the wrong lane, while it was trying to pass the bus the vehicle swerved in order to avoid an approaching van and collided with the bus. The driver didn’t stop. The tour bus which is a very big van was conveying passengers to the Everglades.

Van and Bus Collisions – A Seasonal Threat in SWFL

South Florida is one of the top destinations for tour buses in the nation. The old population coupled with a host of travel destinations, from Disney world to the Immokalee casino to the Everglades, makes people want to travel on the local roads, especially at the peak of touring seasons.

Unluckily, such high demands usually result in less reputable and inexperienced touring firms hitting the roads. Recent challenges encountered with such local touring companies included inadequate maintenance of buses, poor safety records of drivers, and customers paying for services that are not rendered to them – they pay for tour buses without ever hitting the road.

While there hasn’t been any allegation that the driver of the tour bus made a mistake in this case, the federal government has strongly discouraged the use of 15-seater vans of this type. This is because of risks of rollover together with the fact that a lot of these older vans do not have adequate seat belts.

15-Seater Commercial Van Risks

It was reported that various deadly collisions that involve these types of vans had been witnessed a lot in South Florida in recent years. Schools have been told to stop using these vehicles to transport students due to the safety risks involved. For other operations, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges a lot of caution, training, and regular maintenance including:

• Occupancy: No more than 15 persons should ride in these vehicles.
• Tires: Before each use, the pressure of the tires should be checked. This is because these vehicles are usually left unused for very long periods, so the conditions of the tire should be monitored carefully.
• Drivers: These vans don’t function like passenger vehicles. So they require highly trained and experienced drivers.
• Cargo: These vehicles are vulnerable to too much load. So the weight limit should always be adhered to, irrespective of the number of passengers onboard.

If you have any collision case that you probably want to file a claim, you can contact a Florida car accident lawyer.