Houston Public Transportation Accidents

Public transportation is a vital resource for residents of the Houston metropolitan area. Texas commuters make up a substantial portion of the estimated 10.7 billion public transportation trips each year nationwide. Each day passengers throughout the state allow another driver, operator or pilot to transport them from one location to another thereby relinquishing control of their personal safety to another. Relinquishing this control presents certain risks.

Most of the time responsible, conscientious operators of common carriers transport their passengers safely to their destinations, but unfortunately that is not always the case. Negligence on the part of drivers and operators is often a common factor when public transits crash. Passengers may become injured or may even be killed.

Common carriers are subject to a high standard when it comes to the safety of their passengers. Damages may be awarded for medical costs associated with personal injury, lost future income, costs for physical rehabilitation, end-of-life expenses in the case of wrongful death, and payment for emotional pain and suffering.

The H-GAC launched a Regional Safety Council in February of 2006 in order to provide an interdisciplinary approach to Houston’s traffic and transit safety issues. Five areas of focus were established, and included were law enforcement agencies, the medical community, engineers, advocacy groups, the trucking industry, mass transit, and pedestrian planners and researchers. Approaches to improve Houston traffic and public transit safety included the following:

• Initiation of a bilingual bus and commercial driver’s license educational program of outreach
• Development of an urban safety corridor including highway engineering projects
• Creation of a no-zone informational campaign informing drivers of larger blind spots on busses and on trucks
• Establishment of a new program which would allow all drivers to use their cell phones to dial DWI in order to report other drivers of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Development of a state-wide safety conference and the hosting of two regional safety conferences

The establishment of Houston’s Regional Safety Council has created a critical dialogue on traffic/public transit safety in the Houston metropolitan area.

On February 8, 2010, nine people were hospitalized after a bus collided with a METRO train in downtown Houston. The bus was headed west on St. Joseph Parkway when it ran a red light and collided with the METRO train which was northbound on Main. The train operator had joined METRO one year prior.

He was treated and released at the scene, but the bus driver who had been driving since 2000 and one passenger on the train were among four individuals taken to St. Joseph Hospital. One person was taken to Memorial Herman for care, and four others were taken to Ben Taub General Hospital.

Unfortunately, with so many miles being traveled by so many busses, accidents like this one in downtown Houston are fairly common occurrences.

If you have been injured in a transportation accident, contact the personal injury lawyers of the Wyly Law Firm, P.C. today. We proudly represent clients who have been hurt or killed due to the negligence of others.

Call (713) 574-7034 or complete our online contact form for a free consultation.

These Hubs are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Professional legal counsel should be sought for specific advice relevant to your circumstances.