However, a recent accident involving a bus company has raised questions regarding just how safe these low-cost carriers are—especially because one eight year old company has had multiple accidents nationwide, resulting in hundreds of injuries and at least eight deaths. Moreover, there have been reports of bus drivers being stopped by law enforcement and arrested for drunk driving.

The Megabus fleet operates from Boston to California and includes stops in Connecticut. The latest crash occurred in Indiana, on Interstate 65, when a double-decker bus traveling from Chicago to Atlanta slammed into the back of a tractor trailer. According to law enforcement, the accident took place in a construction zone where the truck had stopped, along with the rest of the traffic. The impact of the crash sent the truck into an SUV that was stopped in front of it. Nineteen people were transported to local hospitals with injuries. This was the fourth crash by the carrier since October in the state of Indiana alone.

In 2012, a Megabus traveling through Illinois carrying 70 passengers skidded and slammed into a concrete pillar of an overpass. At least five people needed to be extricated from the bus. One victim, a 25-year-old medical student, was killed. In a New York Megabus crash which occurred in 2011, the bus smashed into a bridge. Four people on board the bus were killed. The driver of the bus was later indicted on four counts of criminally negligent homicide and one count of failing to obey a traffic control device.

The Megabus is not the only carrier to come under fire for its accident record. Fung Wah, which transported passengers between Manhattan and Boston, recently announced it will most likely be going out of business. In 2013, the company lost its federal license for numerous safety violations. Last year, however, the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reissued that license. However, Boston officials have taken away the carrier’s two gates located at South Station, which leaves Fung Wah without a Boston stop and nowhere to operate from.

Consult with a Connecticut Personal Injury Attorney

If you have been injured in a bus accident, please contact an aggressive Westport personal injury attorney to find out what legal compensation you may be entitled to for your pain and loss.

The post How Safe is the Commercial Bus You’re Riding in? appeared first on Westport CT Medical Malpractice Lawyer | Rich Raphael Attorney Blog.