Photo: Flash90

The accident took place on Sunday when a Kavim 304 bus traveling from Modiin Illit to Har Nof, Jerusalem, flipped onto its side. According to police, the accident occurred when a paramedic on his way to Jerusalem stopped on the side of the road to provide assistance to an accident victim on the other side of the traffic barrier. A few minutes later, the 304 bus collided with the paramedic’s private car, skidding and flipping over. Ruchama Rosen, 27, and Rachel Gutman, a 23-year-old mother, both of Modiin Illit, lost their lives in the accident.

Attention immediately focused on whether the driver was driving above the speed limit and why the paramedic left his car parked halfway across the fast lane and not on the hard shoulder. At press time, an Israeli police spokesman said that both drivers would be questioned after their release from the hospital. Eliyahu Galili, a veteran investigator with the Israel Police, told Mishpacha that police will look into whether the driver was driving while distracted. Gadi Weissman, a safety and traffic consultant, said that this was a crash that did not have to happen. “A car cannot stand in the left-hand shoulder if it protrudes into the lane,” he told Mishpacha. “The first thing that needs to be checked is how the bus driver did not notice a protruding car.”

The deadly accident inevitably focused attention on Israel’s road safety record and what many Israelis and visitors alike view as a culture that fosters reckless driving. But according to a report by the Israeli Transport Ministry, 2018 was Israel’s safest year on record. Further, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, roads in Israel are actually far safer than they are made out to be, with four deaths per 100,000 residents as compared to 11 deaths in the United States.

However, it is true that buses in Israel are involved in accidents at a higher rate than other vehicles. According to the Green Light organization, in 2018 there were 76.2 bus accidents for every 10,000 vehicles. That compares to 6.7 per 10,000 vehicles among motorcycles and 28.8 among trucks weighing over 34 tons. In total, 33 people were killed in bus accidents last year.

Gil Beilin, founder and chairman of 120, a road safety organization, notes that a bus is a large, heavy vehicle with a high center of gravity. “Any small turn of the steering wheel might mean getting into a difficult situation that is not very easy to get out of,” he explained. “Even if a driver already senses the danger, it is possible that a rollover is inevitable.”

According to Beilin, the road where the accident took place is well designed and relatively new. He says that driver error accounts for most traffic accidents.

Dr. Moshe Becker, a transportation and road safety expert, says that training for drivers is inadequate in Israel. Because public transportation in Israel has undergone semi-privatization, transportation companies have had to hire new drivers. “As a result, the quality of the drivers has been affected.”

Dr. Becker also points out that bus passengers in Israel do not wear seat belts, a fact that can have fatal results. “On intercity highways, at fast speeds, on hills and curves, every collision can lead to a rollover,” he said, “and lead to many casualties and catastrophic injuries.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 748)