A recent Fung Wah accident (Sept. 5, 2006) taking place on a hairpin exit ramp off of I.395/I.290 in Auburn, Ma. resulting in a rollover and many injuries, resembles a horrific Travel Today (Kristine Travel/Travel Pack) accident in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada (April 27, 2001) that resulted in four fatalaties, and many more injuries.

In that accident, the motorcoach was chartered by the Newton School District to transport, at night, music band members to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with two drivers. At the end of Rte 1 Northbound from Saint John, NB., the road ends at either an eastbound ramp to Rte. 2 (TransCanada Highway) East, or ends at a sharp right ramp to Rte 2 West.

Driver Hin C. Kan, 60 yrs. old, of NYC, who spoke no English at the accident scene when interviewed by authorities, had apparently missed the correct eastbound ramp, then failed to slow down to the required 30 KM/H (20MPH) speed limit for the hairpin westbound ramp. His Van Hool coach rolled over in similar fashion of the recent Auburn, Ma. accident, and the rear left window popped open. Four students died, mostly from ejection.

The lawsuit has gone to court last year, and was settled out of court by the four defendants (Kristine, Crystal, Newton School District, New Brunswick Highway Dept.)

I find it of particular interest, that in both of these accidents, signage was ignored by operators who were unfamiliar with the route.

For instance, the New Brunswick accident, of course, the operator had never been in that region, there is doubt that he had ever been to Canada, (or perhaps a few times to Niagara Falls). Prior to the interchange with Rte. 2, the speed limit on Rte. 1 reduces from 110KM/h (68MPH) to 90KM/h (56MPH) at 1-2 miles prior; 70KM/h (43MPH) at 500 yards prior; and after he missed his routed exit, 30 KM/h (19MPH) just before the Rte 2 overpass, along with warnings of upcoming exit ramp. (The interchange has been redesigned since with flyover ramps at this location.)

It is conceivable to me, in fact, likely, that the inability to be english literate, or Kilometer system literate for that matter, of driver Hin C. Kan is a fundamental cause of this rollover accident.

Now, a recent rollover motorcoach accident in Auburn, Ma. that fortunately only resulted in "minor injuries", but also involved a 20MPH hairpin right turn ramp, and a driver who also was not english literate, and was not familiar with the routing - (his supervisor has said that this driver was trying the I.95/I.395/I.90 routing for the first time, due to traffic concerns) - it is conceiveable to me, that again this accident could indeed have been caused by a language barrier, or inability to promptly and properly read and follow road signs.

Is this coincidence? Or is there a pattern here?