Multiple people were hurt after a Greyhound bus bound for Nashville was involved in a crash with multiple commercial vehicles on southbound Interstate 65 on Tuesday, January 16, 2017.

The crash happened at about 8:40a.m. on Tuesday morning just south of Elizabethtown, KY.  Officials with the Kentucky State Police said the collision involved the bus, two additional commercial vehicles and two passenger vehicles.  Officials reported that it was a chain reaction that started with a big-rig hitting a vehicle parked on the side of the interstate.

The Greyhound bus was reportedly heading from Louisville to Nashville carrying 24 passengers. Seven passengers were reported to have been taken to a local hospital for treatment. A relief bus was sent from Louisville to take the passengers on to Nashville, and traffic was backed up for several miles due to the crash.

If you or someone you know have been injured, you need an experienced personal injury attorney on your side, call us now.

Why do Greyhound Buses Keep Crashing in Tennessee?

Greyhound buses seem to crash somewhere in Tennessee with depressing regularity, the latest being the mid January accident with several badly injured. But is the state any worse in terms of bus crashes than any other, and is there any particular reason why Greyhound buses crash at all?

Air travel the safest, motorcycles the least safe

Greyhound is one of the very few companies, if not the only company,  that still provide long distance bus transport all over the U.S. so it is hard comparing Greyhound crashes with any other company. It is also not an easy task to compare Greyhound with other major forms of long distance transport as people choose it for very specific reasons. A CNN report a few years ago concluded that motorcycles and cars were a far more dangerous form of transport than any other. In fact, many people choose to use public transport because they do not want to drive long distances in their own vehicle. The report also concluded that air travel using commercial airlines was the safest form of transport and despite major accidents that hit the headlines from time to time both Amtrak and bus transport are relatively safe.

No obvious patter to Greyhound crashes

The Greyhound bus crashes that have occurred in Tennessee don’t seem to fit a pattern. Crashes occur for all the same reasons as any large vehicle crash. In some cases, the bus driver is at fault, with fatigue, distracted driving and speeding the major causes. One Tennessee accident a few years ago involved the bus driver suddenly losing control. This may happen because the driver has nodded off, or it may be a defective part or a defect in the bus steering mechanism. In other cases, another vehicle was largely responsible with the Greyhound crash an accident of circumstances. Residents in the state may even remember the incident involving a Greyhound bus in 2001 in which one of the passengers trued to slash the bus driver’s throat while the bus was in motion. 6 people died as the bus veered out of control.

Summing up, despite high profile accidents, there is no reason to suggest that Greyhound bus travel is inherently unsafe, but because of the potential number of people injured or killed an accident will always rightly attract a good deal of attention and there will be a thorough investigation into the cause.

Get legal advice as soon as possible after a bus crash

If you, or a member of your family, have been injured in any kind of bus crash it is unlikely you would be at fault and you may be entitled to compensation for the expenses involved in your injury(ies). It is advisable to contact a bus accident attorney as soon as you are physically able to after a Tennessee bus accident. The attorney will examine the crash evidence and assess your chance of obtaining compensation through a personal injury claim.