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A tired truck driver crosses into a workers' bus

State Route 37, Louisville, New York, United States

Official investigation finding

What happened

At about 6am on 28 January 2023, on a wet two-lane road with light snow falling, an eastbound box truck crossed the centre line of New York State Route 37 in Louisville, New York, and collided with an oncoming bus carrying workers.

Six bus passengers were killed. Two were seriously injured and five had minor injuries. The truck driver was seriously injured.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause was the truck driver's fatigue, due to insufficient sleep and circadian disruption, which lowered his alertness and led to the truck crossing into the opposing lane. Reporting on the NTSB's findings said phone records showed the driver had five hours or less of uninterrupted sleep opportunity on each of the three days before the crash. The investigation also identified serious safety problems with the bus operator.

What the evidence says about fatigue

The NTSB determined that the probable cause was the truck driver's fatigue due to insufficient sleep and circadian disruption, which lowered his level of alertness to the driving task.

Why it matters

Night and early-morning driving works against the body clock. Short, broken sleep over several days adds up, even when a driver feels able to carry on.

Sources

This summary was written by Drowzy from the reports listed above. Please read the original reporting for full details. If anything here is inaccurate, let us know so we can correct it.