NTSB Cites Driver Fatigue, Improper Seatbelt Use Among Causes of Fatal School-Bus Crash

The NTSB’s lengthy, in-depth investigation found that bus-driver impairment played a larger role in the New Jersey school bus accident than previously believed. Driver John Tieman, 66, was exhausted from a lack of sleep, taking multiple pain medications and suffering from persistent back pain that prevented him from turning and fully scanning the intersection. “The school bus driver was fatigued due to acute sleep loss, chronic sleep [sic], and poor sleep quality associated with medical conditions and alcohol use, the side effects from prescription medications, and the synergistic effect […]