Driver fatigue cited in 2012 fatal
By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing editor
Fatigue, an undisclosed medical history, an oversized load and speeding all contributed to the school bus accident that killed an 11-year-old Chesterfield Elementary School student in February 2012, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The board met July 23 in Washington, D.C., to consider the Feb. 16, 2012 collision of the school bus with a dump truck. The bus was carrying 25 students to Chesterfield Elementary School along Burlington County Road as it approached the intersection with Old York Road. At the same time, the truck was traveling east on Route 528 approaching the same intersection. As the school bus proceeded across the intersection, the truck collided with the left rear of the bus. The bus spun around 180 degrees and hit a traffic light pole.The crash killed one student, Isabelle Tezla, 11, and seriously injured her two sisters and two others. Ten other students and the bus driver sustained minor injuries. The truck driver was not injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the crash “was the school bus driver’s failure to observe the Mack roll-off truck, which was approaching the intersection within a hazardous proximity.”
“Cognitive decrements due to fatigue as a result of acute sleep loss, chronic sleep debt, and poor sleep quality, in combination with, and exacerbated by, sedative side effects from his use of prescription medications” contributed to the school bus driver John Tieman’s, 67, of Beverly, reduced vigilance, according to a synopsis provided by the board.
Operation of the truck by driver Michael Caporale, 38, of New Egypt, in excess of the posted speed limit, in addition to his failure to ensure that the weight of the vehicle was within allowable operating restrictions, contributed to the severity of the crash, according to the board’s synopsis.
“Further contributing to the severity of the crash were the defective brakes on the truck and its overweight condition due to poor vehicle oversight by Herman’s Trucking, along with improper installation of the lift axle brake system by the final stage manufacturer — all of which degraded the truck’s braking performance,” the board synopsis stated. “Contributing to the severity of passenger injuries were the nonuse or misuse of school bus passenger lap belts; the lack of passenger protection from interior sidewalls, sidewall components, and seat frames and the high lateral and rotational forces in the back portion of the bus.”
The board also determined that the truck striking the school bus and the bus hitting the traffic beacon support pole created “high lateral forces that led to penetration of the bus interior” that contributed to the one fatality and severe injuries.
The board’s investigation of the accident looked at the bus driver, the truck driver, the vehicles and the environment to make their determinations, according to Deboarh Hersman, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.
“In about a month it will be back-to-school for our nation’s schoolchildren,” Ms. Hersman said. “Many students will be climbing aboard bright yellow buses for the first time. Their parents and guardians should know that riding the bus is the safest way to get to school and home again. Yet, we know improvements can be made. And, that’s the goal of today’s report, our recommendations and the work of the National Transportation Safety Board — saving lives and preventing injuries.”
As a result of the investigation, the board recommended improvements to the qualifications of those overseeing the medical certification of commercial drivers, called for the use of brake monitoring systems and onboard scales for trucks weighing 10,000 pounds or more and called for the development of new technology that would allow all highway vehicles to communicate with each other. The board also recommended the distribution of materials to parents and students about the importance of wearing seatbelts on school buses and training for bus drivers, parents and students on the proper use of these seatbelts.

