Not everyone in New Jersey owns a car, or even wants to drive on our state’s congested streets and highways. Some people prefer to take the bus to get from point A to point B. Sometimes these bus trips are short commutes across town, while other times they are longer journeys from New Jersey to another state. And, school buses and tour buses also make an appearance in New Jersey.
However, buses are large vehicles and, like commercial trucks, can cause significant damage to passengers and other motorists should they cause a commercial vehicle accident. Victims of such accidents can suffer substantial injuries. Thus, it is important to understand who can be held responsible for bus accidents.
Buses are “common carriers” meaning that for a charge they transport people from one location to another. These vehicles have a heightened duty of care toward their passengers. Like other negligence actions, liability hinges on the standard of “reasonableness” — that is, how a reasonably careful bus driver would operate their vehicle in similar circumstances.
If a personal injury claim in a commercial vehicle accident is warranted, there may be numerous parties that can be held responsible for the crash. For example, when it comes to tour bus accidents, the tour company, bus company and bus destinations could all potentially be liable should an incident involving a bus occur that injures a passenger on the bus or another motorist.
Of course, this post only provides general information on liability in commercial vehicle accidents. Those who have been injured in bus crashes or other incidents involving a bus or a commercial truck will want to seek legal advice, which this post does not contain, so they can decide how to proceed.