Sentencing delayed in fatal Chippewa Falls bus crash

i guess you missed the story when this man was found not guilty for the accident, hes being sentenced for falsifying entries in his drivers log, the bus driver was speeding, and driving without his glasses, its pretty obvious who really was at fault.

As one who kept a OTR driver's logbook when driving, a mistake can be made on rare occasion but mistakes made frequently to 'cook' the log or erroneously squeeze or legitimized time to be in compliance is a disaster waiting to happen. The driver always loses!
In this case, ignorance or fatigue is no excuse. The commercial driver is always guilty unless he can prove his innocence. Michael Kozlowski may be innocent but unfortunately his logbook and five deceased tell or say otherwise.
Sorry Michael, your youthful indiscretions and unprofessional conduct did you in. If you are granted any leniency I hope you make your life and others more meaningful and purposeful. You must bear the pain and torment of this tragedy with you for the rest of your life. Good Luck.
gtV

As one who kept a OTR driver's logbook when driving, a mistake can be made on rare occasion but mistakes made frequently to 'cook' the log or erroneously squeeze or legitimized time to be in compliance is a disaster waiting to happen. The driver always loses!

In this case, ignorance or fatigue is no excuse. The commercial driver is always guilty unless he can prove his innocence. Michael Kozlowski may be innocent but unfortunately his logbook and five deceased tell or say otherwise.

Sorry Michael, your youthful indiscretions and unprofessional conduct did you in. If you are granted any leniency I hope you make your life and others more meaningful and purposeful. You must bear the pain and torment of this tragedy with you for the rest of your life. Good Luck.
gtV

Yes, pretty hard to see a huge semi truck and trailer laying across the highway..

cisco wrote:

i guess you missed the story when this man was found not guilty for the accident, hes being sentenced for falsifying entries in his drivers log, the bus driver was speeding, and driving without his glasses, its pretty obvious who really was at fault.

cisco;
You are correct in part, but due to the myriad of laws, especially US Statutes and USDOT regs involved, Kozlwski is still held accountable for his actions(driving) and casualties, with loss of life, involved.

Commercial drivers, according to precedents, are always 'guilty' for vehicular incidents etc. unless proven otherwise. That's just the way it is and every good commercial driver knows this.

In this case, regardless of the blame put on the other driver, Kozlowski's jack-knifed disabled truck was the main reason for the crash. To argue this tragedy further would be to no avail for anyone.

Five people killed and 28 injured should be a lesson to all of us for carelessness and negligence in driving any vehicle.
gtV

I have friends in Chippewa Falls and they personally knew the folks who died and their kids are close friends with many of the injured youth. Mr. K deserves jail time for not placing flares immediately on the road - he called his employer instead of caring about the welfare of others.

I can't believe that this happened in 2005 and is still on going. That is a crime within itself.

Rob A wrote:

Yes, pretty hard to see a huge semi truck and trailer laying across the highway..

Rob,

It's difficult to see a semi truck when the BOTTOM of the truck is facing the driving lanes, hence no reflectors or lights are visible, and it was after dark. It would be entirely possible for a driver to not see the truck until it was too late to stop or avoid it.

Ohmigosh wrote:

<quoted text>
Rob,
It's difficult to see a semi truck when the BOTTOM of the truck is facing the driving lanes, hence no reflectors or lights are visible, and it was after dark. It would be entirely possible for a driver to not see the truck until it was too late to stop or avoid it.

The study found that the bus driver should have seen the truck and either braked or steered to avoid the truck.

JTT wrote:

I have friends in Chippewa Falls and they personally knew the folks who died and their kids are close friends with many of the injured youth. Mr. K deserves jail time for not placing flares immediately on the road - he called his employer instead of caring about the welfare of others.

he was still in the truck when it was hit dumbass

Ohmigosh wrote:

<quoted text>
Rob,
It's difficult to see a semi truck when the BOTTOM of the truck is facing the driving lanes, hence no reflectors or lights are visible, and it was after dark. It would be entirely possible for a driver to not see the truck until it was too late to stop or avoid it.

its even harder when your tired, and you dont have your glasses on, plus your speeding

cisco wrote:

<quoted text> its even harder when your tired, and you dont have your glasses on, plus your speeding

cisco;
Still, the fact remains is that the semi was across the lanes and hard to see even for a well fully alert bus driver.

Ever try stopping a fully loaded coach bus,[@20 ton/40,000# G.V.W.], at legal freeway speed[65-70mph] with full brake pressure applied? I have! It's a hand full to control even in full broad daylight! Do this procedure at night and the chances might be against you avoiding an accident in the lesser visibility.

Because of fate and circumstances we will never know the whole story and all the truthful facts since one of the drivers is deceased to tell his side of this mess.

Cisco, let's just hope we all learned something from this sad and tragic accident. Enough said.
gtV

gtVoyageur wrote:

<quoted text>
...
Ever try stopping a fully loaded coach bus,[@20 ton/40,000# G.V.W.], at legal freeway speed[65-70mph] with full brake pressure applied? I have! It's a hand full to control even in full broad daylight! Do this procedure at night and the chances might be against you avoiding an accident in the lesser visibility.
...

GTv -- thank you for speaking from your years of driving coach buses all over the country. I can't help but think that if you had been driving the lead bus in that convoy, no one would have been hurt. Just a hunch that I have!

You show me one truck driver that has not falsified a log and I will have to call you a liar. Most carry two or three log books. Impractical laws by DOT to make money off the truck driver make it a joke. Anyone can beat the system with a log book. On ice road truckers one driver just lost 24 hours because of a 15 minute mistake. A mistake. Our justice system that is bent on revenge is harming more people and helping none except the greedy few running it. This guy is now a victim of a felon judge.

jerry person wrote:

You show me one truck driver that has not falsified a log and I will have to call you a liar. Most carry two or three log books. Impractical laws by DOT to make money off the truck driver make it a joke. Anyone can beat the system with a log book. On ice road truckers one driver just lost 24 hours because of a 15 minute mistake. A mistake. Our justice system that is bent on revenge is harming more people and helping none except the greedy few running it. This guy is now a victim of a felon judge.

jerry person;
You bring to the fore some very cogent points regarding the infamous logbook. However, truckers, especially the independents, can get away with carry multiple logs. If you drive OTR coach buses etc. carrying multiple logbooks can get you fired.

Honest small mistakes can be corrected and signed-off but if the mistakes fall consistently into a deliberate pattern, the driver is summarily fined and/or dismissed by the company. There are correctable and legitimate ways around this but in most cases it is rarely implemented.

Bus drivers are held to even higher standards with logging since passengers are involved. Good drivers don't need multiple logbooks, to have such can be very costly.

Also, you made reference to an 'ice trucker' and his logbook mistake. Well, I remember seeing that TV show and also thought that trucker got a bad deal. You forget those 'ice truckers' are under the regulations of the Canadian Ministry of Transport and Safety as well as provincial regulations.

The Canadians have very strict and tough transport laws that must be followed to the letter. Mistakes are not tolerated and God help if you get caught with multiple logbooks. Canadian prisons aren't Club Med.

Again, as a [retired] commercial OTR driver I see your points but it was not worth the hassles or fines etc. for duplicity or mistakes in logging.
gtV

cisco wrote:

i guess you missed the story when this man was found not guilty for the accident, hes being sentenced for falsifying entries in his drivers log, the bus driver was speeding, and driving without his glasses, its pretty obvious who really was at fault.

its taken me 5 years to realize that it wasnt anyones fault..you have NO RIGHT to say your opion about it. you wanna know what that morning felt like for us. the sad thing pathetic people like you wont ever know

gtVoyageur wrote:

<quoted text>
...
Again, as a [retired] commercial OTR driver I see your points but it was not worth the hassles or fines etc. for duplicity or mistakes in logging.
gtV

Thank you for a professional's take on this matter. The wanna-be's just don't know the drill.