Common law defines the rules that apply to common carriers in the US. Bus drivers, and other common carriers, are required to use the utmost care and diligence when working to ensure the safety of their passengers. This heightened standard of care goes beyond the typical negligence doctrine that is applied to personal injury claims.
Even though the same concept of negligence will apply to a bus accident claim, it is much more likely that bus drivers and bus companies will be found to have acted unreasonably under crash circumstances. Bus drivers and bus companies have a duty to use more than just reasonable care that most drivers are expected to uphold. In other words, there may be some things that are not considered negligence when an ordinary driver does them but would be considered negligence by a bus driver.
The duty of care applied to common carriers includes regularly inspecting and maintaining the vehicle, using the utmost care when following traffic laws and operating the vehicle safely, companies ensuring that drivers are properly trained and have a clean background, and more.
Various regulations apply to carriers, depending on the type of bus and jurisdiction. State law typically applies to school bus drivers as well as smaller buses that operate intrastate. However, any bus that operates interstate for the purpose of carrying passengers, such as Greyhound or Megabus, falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).