Traffic
Investigators are looking for the cause of the bus accident
There have been a number of serious coach accidents in recent years. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
After the accident with deaths and injuries on the A9, shock and sadness remain – and many questions. One of them: How safe are long-distance buses actually as a means of transport?
The double-decker Flixbus left the road on Wednesday morning, raced across the grass verge and tipped over on its side. The police spoke of 4 dead, 6 seriously injured and 29 people with minor injuries. The identification of the dead was not yet completed on Wednesday.
The bus with more than 50 passengers and two drivers had an accident on the way from Berlin to Zurich. He set off at 8 a.m. and the accident happened at around 9:45 a.m. between the Wiedemar junction and the Schkeuditzer Kreuz. According to initial findings, no other vehicle was probably involved. The A9, an important north-south route between Berlin and Munich, was completely closed around the accident site for twelve hours – until around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
“Cases in which accidents occur, often dramatic”
There have been a number of serious coach accidents in recent years. Nevertheless, buses are among the comparatively safe means of transport. According to accident statistics, they are comparatively rarely involved in traffic accidents with personal injuries.
“Nevertheless, cases in which accidents occur are often dramatic because the number of people affected can be high,” said an ADAC spokesman. According to the information, a total of eight people died in bus accidents inside and outside towns in 2022 – a number that is not unusual in long-term comparison.
Seat belts are compulsory in coaches
The ADAC referred to the requirement to wear seat belts in coaches since 1999. “It is not possible to understand whether and how individual companies check whether passengers are wearing seatbelts,” said the spokesman. Bus travelers are generally advised to fasten their seatbelts. In addition, according to ADAC, coaches must be equipped with a so-called lane departure warning system since 2022. It was initially not known whether the bus that crashed had one. Such a system warns the driver, but does not prevent the driver from actually leaving the road if they do not countersteer.
According to the bus company, the driver of the bus that crashed on the A9 is said to have adhered to all driving and rest times. “There were two drivers on board, the driver on duty had been driving the bus since it left Berlin at 8 a.m.,” it said. According to police, he is not among the dead. Details about his health were not given.