Introduction: At about 16:25 on August 9, 2014, a tourist bus, an off-road vehicle and a pickup truck collided at 4740 to 4741 of National Highway 318 in Nimu County, Tibet. There were passengers in the three vehicles. 55 people. The traffic accident ultimately killed 44 people and injured 11 others.
Accident story
A bus fell off a cliff and encountered a reverse-driving off-road vehicle at a downhill turn: The driver, Dong Chao, drove a bus with license plate number Zang AL1869 along National Highway 318 from Shigatse to Lhasa. When the vehicle was traveling to the 237-meter left-turn downhill section of National Highway 4740 in Nyam County, Lhasa City, it encountered Bai Congcong, an off-road vehicle with license plate number Zang AX9272 driving from the opposite direction, illegally crossing the center line of the road.
Two vehicles collided head-on. The bus fell off a cliff: The left fronts of the two vehicles collided head-on. The Tibetan bus AL1869 then moved forward to the right and scraped against the corrugated beam guardrail on the roadside and broke the guardrail. Then it overturned and fell to 11 meters. Deep cliff.
A second accident occurred after the off-road vehicle was hit: Zang AX9272 off-road vehicle rotated 180 degrees counterclockwise after the impact and returned to the original lane, and then collided with a Great Wall light ordinary truck with license plate number Chongqing FC2027 coming in the same direction. Then stop at the ditch on the left side of the road.
Accident casualties: The traffic accident caused a total of 44 deaths, 11 injuries, and serious damage to two cars.
Driver status:
Dong Chao, driver of AL1869 bus: Male, 46 years old, from Suining City, Sichuan Province. Holders of motor vehicle driving licenses with the permitted driving type A1A2 will be valid until March 28, 2015. On December 3, 2007, he obtained the qualification as a commercial road passenger transport driver, which is valid until May 11, 2020. Bai Congcong, the driver of
hidden AX9272 off-road vehicle: female, 26 years old, from Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. Holders of a C1 motor vehicle driving license will be valid until June 11, 2018.
Basic road information: The accident scene is located at 237 meters, 4740 kilometers away from National Highway 318, at an altitude of 3850 meters. The road section where the accident occurred is a second-class highway standard in a mountainous and hilly area, with asphalt concrete pavement, running east-west, with mountains on the north side and the Brahmaputra River Canyon on the south side.
road characteristics: design speed is 40 kilometers per hour, the roadbed is 8.5 meters wide, the road surface is 7 meters wide, there is a single yellow dotted line in the center, and there is a 0.6 meter wide drainage ditch on the mountain side.
Protective measures: There is a corrugated beam guardrail on the river side, a "Downhill" warning sign is set up 304 meters west of the incident site, and "Drive with caution on accident-prone roads" 160 meters east of the incident site "Road warning sign.
Basic vehicle information: hides AL1869 bus. The vehicle is a ZK6122H9 Yutong brand large-scale ordinary bus. The vehicle obtained a passenger vehicle operation certificate on May 17, 2012. Its business scope is tourist passenger transportation, and the passenger operation right period is 8 years. The vehicle was rated to carry 55 people, and was actually carrying 50 people when the accident occurred. After inspection and identification, the steering system of the bus was in normal technical condition before the collision, and the right rear wheel brake did not comply with regulations before the accident.
Vehicle inspection status: The vehicle was first registered on May 16, 2012. The vehicle is used for tourist passenger transportation, and the inspection is valid until May 2015.
Basic vehicle information: hides the AX9272 off-road vehicle. The vehicle is a GTM6481ADS Toyota brand small ordinary bus. After inspection and identification, the steering system and braking system were in normal technical condition before the off-road vehicle accident.
Vehicle inspection status: The vehicle was first registered on June 3, 2014. The vehicle is used for non-operational purposes. The inspection is valid until 2016
Main reason 1: The off-road vehicle was speeding on the uphill section and illegally occupied the road when passing another vehicle
Hidden AX9272 off-road vehicle Speeding and illegally occupying the road. Before the accident, the car was driving on the center line of the road. On an uphill road with a speed limit of 40 km/h, it was speeding by more than 20%. Before meeting a bus from the opposite direction, it illegally crossed the center line of the road to occupy the lane, causing the two vehicles to veer off. The collision caused the bus to lose control and fall off a cliff.
Main reason 2: The bus did not drive safely when meeting other vehicles and did not take any handling measures
Based on the driving speed of Tibetan bus AL1869 before the accident, it traveled 82-93 meters in 4.6 seconds. The two vehicles were more than 150 meters apart, and the sight line was good. , the bus could have discovered that the off-road vehicle was illegally occupying the road and could have taken measures such as slowing down and honking the horn to avoid the accident. However, the bus neither slowed down nor gave a warning, nor did it stop or give way, which directly led to the accident.
Indirect cause: The braking performance of the bus was unqualified
After investigation, the braking performance of the right rear wheel of the bus did not meet the requirements of the "Technical Specifications for Automobile Maintenance, Testing and Diagnosis" (GB/T 18344-2001), posing serious safety risks.
Expert analysis
When meeting vehicles on a slope, downhill vehicles should let uphill vehicles go first
When meeting vehicles on a slope, uphill vehicles require greater traction to climb the slope and require large kinetic energy, making it difficult to observe the conditions of the vehicles behind them and going up. It is easy to be dangerous if the engine stalls on a slope, so vehicles going downhill should give way to vehicles going uphill. Although the off-road vehicle was driving in the opposite direction on the line in this accident, as a bus driver, he should be very aware of the principle of courtesy on slopes. He should drive on the right and slow down to give way. However, the bus not only did not give way, but also did not slow down at all. In the end, led to the accident.
Speeding is dangerous and can easily lead to serious traffic accidents
Speeding is dangerous for the following reasons: first, speeding reduces vision and makes judgment inaccurate; second, speeding, the reaction distance is extended; third, speeding, braking The moving distance is extended; the fourth is speeding, which aggravates the consequences of the accident; if both drivers in the accident are not speeding, it will be easier to detect the other party in advance, so as to carry out effective avoidance operations and avoid traffic accidents.
