This video shows a terrifying moment as A Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) van on the Dallas North Tollway slams into a line of waiting cars on a ramp. It is astonishing that no deaths have been reported.
The crash left two people injured. DART has released a statement saying that it has concluded that the accident was a “result of the van operator failing to slow with traffic.” The video likely made this the shortest such investigation in history.
One thing that occurred to me in watching this video is how amazing the “crashworthiness” of cars has become. This is an area where liability decisions may have directly influenced new designs. In a line of cases, courts ruled that a car’s “crashworthiness” must be part of the design. Automobile manufacturers argued that a crash is not a proper use of a car and thus should not be part of a consumer’s expectations as to its design and functionality. The courts rejected that argument and imposed liability for design defects for cars that were not designed to protect drivers and passengers in accidents.
The liability here for DART is obvious and extensive. It is a clear case of respondeat superior and obvious negligence. There is no evidence of a medical condition for the driver that would excuse the accident. The driver has been placed on administrative leave.
You can see the level of destruction in the aftermath in the video below:
I’ve wondered about why some pick-up truck makers have some models sold at retail having front and rear bumpers greatly above where standard trucks have theirs. The potential for an under-ride / over-ride is almost a certainty and the windshield of the smaller vehicle gets the initial impact and a fatal results. But, they are still produced and I still shake my head.
It looks like the brake lights on the bus never light up, even after impact.
The driver seemed to be sleeping while awake at the wheel.
Last time I checked, texting is the number one cause of this type thing nationwide, DWI was third.
You are so right about liability costs forcing improvements to cars.
Remember the Pinto debacle? Lots of people died horrible flaming deaths because of a known and preventable design flaw. When dragged into court, Ford divulged memos showing that the highest levels of the company had cost/benefit discussions and came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper to settle the lawsuits than to fix the problem. Chevy did the same with the Corvair. This is way liability limits are so important to the 1%.
I’ll bet a doughnut the driver was texting…
If I recall…. The operations of this particular part of the bus service is contracted…. Still respondent superior……