Causal Factors and Mitigation of Transit Bus Collisions

Providing safe public transit bus services is a core objective of all public transit agencies, local governments, and the organizations that fund and regulate public transportation. While considerable effort has been made to improve the safety of bus transit services, these efforts have not fully addressed the causal (i.e., underlying) factors of bus collisions. Causal factors may be categorized as primary, root, direct, or contributing factors. Eliminating or reducing these factors could mitigate the likelihood and severity of bus collisions and improve safety performance. Data and information are available on public transit bus collisions from a range of sources including the federal government, transit agencies, states, and transit risk and insurance pools. Researchers should be aware that reporting of collision data may be affected by applicable law, litigation, and the apportionment of liability. Additionally, identifying the causes of public transit bus collisions from these data is challenging due to variability in data collection methods and definitional inconsistencies used by transit agencies and accident investigators. This variability complicates efforts to accurately determine causal factors of bus collisions, which is important to developing effective strategies to reduce the likelihood and severity of public transit bus collisions with motorized vehicles, nonmotorized vehicles, pedestrians, and fixed objects. Despite the considerable interest in public transit safety, research is needed on the causal factors of public transit bus collisions and effective mitigation strategies. The objectives of this research are to (1) identify the key causal factors of public transit bus collisions with motorized vehicles, nonmotorized vehicles, pedestrians, and fixed objects, (2) present practical strategies that can be implemented to mitigate the likelihood and severity of bus collisions, and (3) identify the roles and responsibilities of transit agencies and other relevant stakeholders to improve safety. This research may consider the following matters regarding causal factors and mitigation strategies: environmental; human (including bus operators, other vehicle operators, and pedestrians); infrastructure; operating environment; public education and awareness; regulation and enforcement; training, procedures, policies, and reporting requirements; vehicle attributes and performance characteristics; and working conditions.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5823
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $250,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project A-53

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Transit Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Schwager, Dianne

• Start Date: 20250919
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus crashes; Bus transit; Crash causes; Traffic safety
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01937964
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project A-53
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 26 2024 5:42AM