The Transportation Accidents Support Center

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like being involved in a major mass transit accident, you are never alone.  Countless men, women and children have faced the exact same disaster and have survived and thrived.  The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same crisis.  

TSC has scoured the Internet and assembled links to the very best mass transit accident resources: articles, blogs, forums and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional and other challenges that you face.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this Mass Transit Accidents Guide even more helpful to survivors like you.   

JUST FOUND OUT 

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Disorder

• Train Web: Derailments
  
• Car Accidents: Bus Crash Accidents
• US Boating: Accident Statistics
  

The Big Picture

Although most studies point to your home as being the number one site for accidents, once you step outside your door, there are “hot zones” in terms of areas where potential accidents can occur. When you opt to travel by means of mass transit you are essentially surrendering your safety to the operators and maintenance people who run those modes of transportation. By and large these public systems are managed with rigorous safety and operational standards. But, as with everything else in life, accidents do happen.  

Because mass transit is run and operated by local, state and federal government, you can depend on statistics. This link provides up to date stats of accidents involving mass transit.

American Public Transportation Association: Public Transportation Safety and Security Statistics

With a review of these statistics, you can see that light rail transportation is obviously a lot safer then traveling by car.

Light Rail Now: Public Transit = Much Safer Travel

Mass Transit Accident Prevention

To better understand how to prevent a mass transit accident, you sometimes need to recreate the accident and study it from all angles.

Psysorg: Ka-Boom!!! Retired Mass-Transit Bus Bombed to Smithereens to Test Forensics Camera

The US Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration has put together a comprehensive list of resources dealing with passenger safety. You may never find yourself in one of this extreme situations but it could certainly give you even more peace of mind to know what to do:

United States Department of Transportation: Federal Transit Administration

Your World

Mass transit covers buses, railways, and subways.  In other words, pretty much any type of transportation that can move a large group of people from point A to point B. You are dependent upon your local municipality to maintain and operate these lines safely. They in turn depend on the state and federal government. It’s a huge system that stretches across the nation and provides access to millions of passengers on a daily basis.

Mass Transit: Better Transit Through Better Management

For those people that live on or near bodies of water, ferries and boat taxis are a means to help them navigate to their destinations.

Boats Depot: Water Taxi

Mass Transit Accident Myths

• Miami Streetcars are safe in hurricanes
• A driver can always see an approaching train
• Crossing collisions occur because a driver tried to beat the signal

Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

• The Gaea News: Mass. Transit Authority Banning Driver Cell Phones
  
• Ebay: Rail Passengers- Could You Survive a Train Crash? 
• Subway and Tram Crashes: The Darker Side

Types of Mass Transit Accidents

Crashes happen. If you are an innocent victim there is not a lot you can do to prevent these types of accidents. That is why when you travel using mass transit you should be aware of your surroundings, exits and your own personal safety.

Crash Stuff: All Crashes of the World

Subway

Although there are many subway systems around the globe, the New York Subway has become an iconic landmark of that city. By transporting so many people, day in and day out, accidents are bound to happen.

NYC Subway Accidents

Bus

Ever since the invention of the automobile, buses have been around to provide safe and effective transportation, not only for working commuters but for millions of school kids.  Sadly, there have been many incidents involving buses both in urban and rural settings.

Bus Crash Accidents: Pictures and Stories

Boating

Boating is often used as a recreational activity. Although many people make their living on the water, there are others who are weekend boaters that might not be as skilled as professional fishermen.  Because of this lack of experience, boating accidents are all too common. Take a look at the statistics from Texas and you can see the number of accidents is on the rise.

Texas Parks and Wildlife: Boating Facts

Train

Train derailments are horrifying accidents that can leave a wide path of destruction. Not only do they often involve personal injuries but the potential for chemical spills is also increased with a train accident.

Train Derailments

Amusement Rides

Although not always associated with mass transit, amusement rides also “transport” people back and forth. The wear and tear on these rides has effect over time, and accidents have happened even in well-known amusement parks.

Ride Accidents

Creating a support circle

• Set up your TSC Survivor Profile
• Join support groups of other survivors or set up your own
• Interact and provide updates on your profile or our forums

Insurance

Insurance Matters

If you find yourself involved in an accident, you’ll want to make sure that your personal health insurance policy will protect you. It is worth discussing with your insurance agent. Or if you are shopping for a new policy and use public transportation, make sure you’ll be taken care of in the event of an accident.

• Aetna: Health, Dental, Pharmacy Group Life and Disability Insurance Benefits 
• E Health Insurance
  
• Anthem
  
• CIGNA
  

Work Matters

If you are injured in a mass transit accident when you are commuting to work you will have to provide your own coverage. However, if the accident occurs when you are “on the clock” then you might be eligible to file a workman’s compensation claim.  Find out the facts:

Workers Compensation: Workmans Comp Service Center

First Aid

No matter where you or someone close to you might be injured, the same rules of first aid treatment apply. You don’t have to have a medical degree to know some of the basics. For instance, do you know how to treat a cut or broken bone? What about a more serious injury? Should you move the person?

• Accidents and First Aid
• Health World: Emergency and First Aid
  
• The Site: Emergency First Aid 

The Emotional Roller-coaster

Surviving a mass transit accident can prove to be a challenge to everyone who has gone through this. Some people find that dealing with aftermath is more of a hardship than the actual incident itself. Many survivors panic and break down under the stress. To avoid this, it's important to continue living your life normally, participating in the same daily activities you've always done. Support groups are also important to maintaining a healthy emotional state. Other than that, educating yourself on the reality of accidents and exposing yourself to books and stories written by those who have dealt with surviving accidents in their past can help give you and your loved ones hope while dealing with this crisis.

Books Survivors Recommend

• The Complete Worse Care Scenario Survival Handbook
• When All Hell Breaks Lose
• Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life
• Transportation Accident Analysis and Prevention   
  

What Survivors Wish They’d Known


Communicating with Your Health-care providers

• Bring a friend or family member with you to your appointments not only to provide support but to lend an extra ear to understand everything your health-care provider has to say and to think up any more questions you may not realize are important at the time.
• Don't be afraid to ask any questions you feel you need the answer to, even if you may be scared of the answer. Ignorance won't help you - emotionally or physically.
• Write down any questions you may have ahead of time and the answers to those questions as your health-care provider walks you through them.  Don't be afraid to ask for clarification on anything.
  

Dealing with a Transportation Accident: Information and Recommended Links for Co-Survivors

How you can help

• Assist your friend or family member with their day-to-day duties or chores, but be sure to find a good balance so as not to throw off their pattern of living, which may increase their stress as they may feel they are becoming a burden.
• Preserve your friend or family member's daily activities. It's normal to feel protective but excluding patients from activities or decisions you don't see them as fit enough to do or make contributes to feelings of helplessness.
• Involve your friend or family member with others. Don't focus exclusively on their accident and treatment plan when interacting with them. Talk to them about yourself or make plans to visit friends and loved ones. A survivor involved with others has a better chance of avoiding feelings of abandonment.
  

What to say    

• "We’ll get through this one day at a time."
  
• "There is no need to rush your recovery."
  
• Tell them how much you care about them
  

What not to say

• "That’s what you get for taking the train."
• "I don’t know why you survived."
• "You should never leave the house."
  

Things you can do for a survivor every day

Offering day-to-day support is a great gift to give a family member who is recovering from an accident or a friend/neighbor that is recovering as well. If the survivor isn't a family member, help out the patient's family when they are away at hospitals or hotels by picking up the mail or newspaper, making meals, going grocery shopping, etc. If the survivor is a family member, help out with chores or other duties they may have fallen behind on.

How to build a support network

• Set up your TSC Co-Survivor Profile
  
• Create a support group for your friend or family member.
• Interact and provide updates
  

How to help a survivor deal with day-to-day challenges

Sometimes the emotional stress can be overwhelming to survivors and you should encourage them to find someone to talk with.

Gift From Within: PTSD Resources for Survivors and Caregivers 

After recovery, assess and share with others how you feel emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Recovering from an accident is almost as shocking going through it in the first place. By telling your story, you can not only put into perspective your thoughts and feelings but you can provide hope to others who are going through a similar journey themselves, whether it be with mass transit accident or any other form of traumatic disaster.

Recovery

Victims of transportation accidents can suffer catastrophic injuries, but that doesn’t mean their life is over. With treatment and rehabilitation, they can continue to lead extremely productive lives.

Truveo: Train Accident Survivor Now Inspirational To 

One of the common injuries to victims of accidents like these is traumatic brain injury. Even with a dire prognosis, survivors will often make a complete recovery.

Brain Injury Resource Foundation: Voices & Visions   

Deciding to move on with your life after an accident is in some ways a wonderful tribute to those who did not survive. You honor them by sharing your experience and reinforcing how precious life is.

AJC: I-75 Bus Wreck Survivor Graduates From College    

After surviving a horrific accident, it is often hard to put your feelings into words but being thankful is certainly easy to communicate.

Fiji Times Online: Survivor's Thankful    

Give back


What helped you while you were dealing with your recovery, undergoing treatment and realized you had survived? Take a look back at your journey and share with other what helped you and what you wished you would have known/done during your post accident experience. You can create a profile, reach out to other survivors, join support circles or share your story by following the links at TheSurvivorsClub.org.

In a split second, a mass transit accident can claim many lives. If it is often very difficult for survivors, bystanders, and even those who only read media accounts of the accident to understand why these things happen. It is especially difficult if you or someone close to you lost a loved one. The grief can be overwhelming. This is a long road to recovery with these types of traumas but it is important to know help is out there.

• Counseling for Loss and Life Changes
  
• Office of Mental Health: Grief Counseling Resource Guide