[Chip & Pam]

I know this story was posted almost a year ago. Being in Palm Springs, the story was updated on the news.

The driver of the 18 wheeler that was rear-ended is being charged as the authority’s say he was also responsible for the accident.

Excerpt from the USA Today article:

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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Felony manslaughter charges have been filed against a semi-truck driver who authorities say caused a deadly bus crash near Palm Springs killing 13 people and injuring 31 othersafter falling asleep at the wheel.

Bruce Guilford, 51, of Covington, Ga., stopped for traffic in the far-right lane of Interstate 10 on Oct. 23, 2016, and dozed off, authorities say. While Guilford was sleeping, traffic began moving again, but his vehicle continued to block the westbound lane, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant filed Wednesday in Riverside County Superior Court.

The tour bus, which was returning to Los Angeles from the Red Earth Casino near Salton City, hit the rear of Guilford’s trailer at a speed of 76 mph, according to court documents.

Guilford faces 13 counts of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, authorities stated. It was unclear Thursday if he was in custody.

In addition, according to court documents, he is being charged with 11 counts of felony reckless driving with injury and 18 counts of misdemeanor reckless driving with injury.

Charging documents indicated he has continued to work as a bus driver since the crash.

In the days before the fatal accident, Guilford violated federal regulations for truck drivers and falsified his drivers log, investigators said.

“In the 24 hours preceding the collision, Mr Guilford had only 7 hours of sleep opportunity, but it is unlikely that he actually slept during those opportunities,” the arrest declaration states.

Investigators also say Guilford violated federal regulations while working as a cross-country truck driver in the weeks leading up to the crash, including falsifying his work logs. He also failed to take the mandated 34-hour rest period before making another cross-country trip on Oct. 19, according to the arrest declaration.

It adds, however, Guilford is not the person most at fault for the crash, an indication that investigators believe the driver of the tour bus was also at fault.

Be safe out there!
Mark

[Roscoeapproved]

hit the rear of Guilford’s trailer at a speed of 76 mph,

Accident investigation placed a percentage of blame in this case on speed of the bus…76 mph.

California I-10 I believe is posted 70mph (cars) where this accident happened.

What a shame…..bus passengers just taking advantage of safe travel to enjoy a casino for a few hours.

And truck driver continued to work as a bus driver while the accident was investigated….unbelievable !! Who in there right mind would hire him ?

Mr Duluth might post on this message…..?

Thanks for your follow up Mark on my post.

AL

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Jeff and Lindsay

91 Marathon XL

[Tom]

Depending on his driving record, lots of companies would likely have hired him. Until he has his license revoked, or has been convicted of a crime, most companies would not even know about this accident. It is unfortunate, but since there is such a shortage of drivers today, bus & truck, there are lots of drivers out there who should not be driving commercially.

With the low wages and being away from home for long stretches, there are not many who aspire to become drivers any longer. It is too bad as I can remember when truck drivers were very professional and not the slugs you see today.

And, what the hell was the bus driver thinking? 76 mph is way over the speed limit and if he never even hit the brakes he must have been asleep too…

[PAUL]

Mark why hasn’t the economic laws of supply and demand caused the pay for truck/bus drivers to increase which would attract more drivers and possibly better drivers.

I’ve been told there are more than a handful of small to modest sized trucking companies located between Milwaukee and Fond du Lac with tractors sitting idle because they can’t find the drivers.

[Archived]

Way back in the day when I was driving, there were more drivers than road jobs. That goes back to 1968 and pretty much stayed that way for years. The money back then was good, it was an honorable profession and the core drivers were the best of the best. If you broke down or had problems you only waited minutes for help from other drivers. In my case like many others at the time, my grandfather was a road driver, my dad was a road driver and I did the same for well over 1 million miles before turning to management and ownership.

As the jobs started out pacing the drivers, the driver shortage eventually became what is is today. There are certainly many good drivers out there who are professional, but the lack of warm bodies has turned companies into hiring anyone they can get there hands on with the least experience, many struggle even with the English language. It’s scary out there today. Just watch at the truck stops, many can’t even back up.

A driver today can easily make 60K a year and you would think that would get folks fired up to become truck drivers. Once they learn what to expect by running the road, it all goes down hill. A normal week may be leaving Sunday night, doing 3000/4000 miles a week, gone for 7 or 8 days or even longer from the family, eating crappy food and trying to get the rest they need to keep rolling.

You hear the companies bragging about home every week, home by Friday, lots of miles, etc.. The guy gets out there and doesn’t see home again for 10 days, is pissed off, wife or girl friend is complaining, they have a shortage of money to live on, the driver spent way too much while on the road, so the paycheck is not what it was suppose to be when he finally gets home. Then the company wants you back on the road in another day or two.

My son-in-law just recently quit his Fire Fighter/EMT job after 11 years and went to truck driving school. I did my best to try to kill that idea, but nooooo. He got his license after paying 20000, but no one would hire him due to no experience. So he found a shitty job here and there and then spent his first 2 weeks on the road, followed by, I quit. Everything I told him he relived and his first paycheck was 3110 after all deductions and advances.

Sorry to ramble on, I really care about the trucking industry, but driver shortage will continue to be a problem until companies find a way to make the job once again desirable, profitable and not treat the driver as a number.

[Archived]

Funny to see you guys make those comments after all the grief I got from you guys after making similar comments last year!

[Tim]

Dick: The money has been poor for years, and it has not kept pace with increases in other fields. A guy I have known for over 40 years who used to work for us, just retired last year. He told me he was making less money at retirement than when he was working for us 9+ years ago. Wages had been going up until the 2008-2009 time frame. When freight volume went south, so did the jobs and wages. Carriers were laying drivers off in some cases during this time.

Also, since there are no barriers to entering the trucking business, you see many startups with older, used equipment that are willing to haul for less just to get their foot in the door. They hire basically anyone. They pay as little as they can get by with. They are the worst as they are here today and gone tomorrow only to be replaced by another fly by night outfit that does the same thing. We ran into this kind of crap all the time, and would lose freight to that kind of carrier. Then when they fell down on the job, the customers would call us expecting miracles of us since their freight was late or still sitting on their dock. Some of the customers learned that cheap is usually not good, but not all of them did. They were the ones who were always looking for the cheapest, not the best.

The drivers you see today that are clean and squared away are the exception.

By the way, shortages also exist in the charter bus business. Ever noticed all the old bus drivers that are out there. Guys driving that are 70+ years old are not all that uncommon in some areas. I know of a couple who were driving at 80+.