CHARTERED BUS CRASH ON U. S. ROUTE 22 (INTERSTATE 78), NEAR NEW SMITHFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA, JULY 15, 1970

ON JULY 15, 1970, A CHARTERED TOUR BUS CARRYING 53 SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN AND THEIR COUNSELORS ON A SIGHT- SEEING TRIP INTO PENNSYLVANIA WAS WESTBOUND ON U.S. 22 (I-78) DURING A RAINSTORM. WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 55 MILES PER HOUR ON A SLIGHT CURVE TO THE RIGHT, THE BUS TRAVERSED A SECTON OF HIGHWAY WHERE EXCESSIVE WATER FLOW WAS CROSSING THE HIGHWAY, PRODUCING 'HYDROPLANING' AND LOSS OF CONTROL. THE BUS SKIDDED CLOCKWISE 180 DEGREES AND INTO THE CABLE-TYPE GUARDRAIL, WHICH FAILED TO HOLD THE BUS, PERMITTING IT TO ROLL (OR VAULT) DOWN A STEEP EMBANKMENT WITH A 30-FOOT DROP. IN THE CRASH, 18 OCCUPANTS WERE EJECTED, RESULTING IN DEATH TO SEVEN STUDENTS AND VARYING INJURIES TO SOME 47 OTHER OCCUPANTS. THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD DETERMINED THAT THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THIS ACCIDENT WAS EITHER DYNAMIC OR VISCOUS HYDROPLANING OF THE FRONT WHEELS OF THE BUS. /AUTHOR/

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1971-9-8

Media Info

• Pagination: 68 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Hydroplaning; School buses; Skid resistance; Traffic crashes
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222029
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: Hwy Acc Re, HS-012 215
• Files: HSL, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 8 1973 12:00AM