Justice for NJ Transit and Coach USA Victims Slain by Their Deadly Bus Drivers

A new PSA video from the Justice Transit Victims Advocacy begins as a soothing and calm image of a ship in the water. Then it unfolds to highlight the accurate rough pictures of New Jersey transportation bus drivers killing innocent victims in vain, which is an epidemic that the people in power are trying to sweep under the rug. The video has movie trailer music playing as you watch all of these lives being murdered. The bus driver death toll is dramatically increasing in New Jersey from 2017 through 2019. It seems sadly probable that we will see more incidents.

These massive killings are unacceptable, given that we have proven tools to prevent these acts from occurring. However, Bob Menendez is passing a law to protect the bus drivers…but what about passing a law to protect the citizens being killed by bus drivers. Governor Phil Murphy is giving Transit $407 million in new stations, tracks, positive train control, and to boost NJ TRANSIT staff. Neither the funds nor the new laws say anything about holding these bus drivers or train engineers accountable for murder. Nor is anyone funding a permitted memorial plaque to honor the victims, killed in vain by the transit drivers/engineers.

Pedestrian deaths in 2012

Pedestrian deaths in 2017

Pedestrian deaths in 2018

Is this the transportation company’s fault because they are hiring drivers with a bad driving record and violent personality with no regard for human life? Along with keeping the drivers on the road after killing an innocent person, there are bus driver assaults and provoked passengers or pedestrians not always the other way around. The prosecutor needs to step up and do their job and put these drivers in jail and stop covering up for NJ Transit/Coach USA because of political favors or nepotism.

A bus kills, like a gun. Murder is murder regardless of what weapon is being used. We cannot accept the human beings are killed by a bus and train as the new normal in our country. Our goal with this PSA is to wake up and raise awareness to the world on the horrible reality that our loved ones endure. Gone are the days of viewing riding a bus as being the safe way of transportation. This is not a carefree time, when bus killing violence has become so prevalent.

I hope that the loved ones who were victimized by NJ Transit/Coach USA deadly bus drivers and train engineers across the country will join Justice for Transit Slain Victim and Deshon’s mother, Naomi, to make the promise to stop this epidemic. Naomi is the Advocate for Innocent People Killed in Vain by NJ Transit/Coach USA Deadly Bus Driver and Train Engineer. Naomi is the founder of the (DJCSF) Deshon Johnson College Scholarship Foundation that raises awareness on these matters. She is also the mother of Deshon Johnson, who was killed by a transit driver.

The DJCSF is a nonprofit organization based in Newark, New Jersey, who welcomes injured victims and family members whose loved ones were killed in the mass bus killing in New Jersey. Their mission is to prevent bus drivers assaults with a vehicle, the killing of innocent people, and other forms of train engineer victimization by creating a culture of engaged youth and adults committed to identifying, intervening, and getting help. For individuals who might be interested, let your voice be heard to hold these bus drivers accountable for their actions so they will stop hurting others.

If these transit drivers go to jail, lose their jobs, pay the victims directly from their pension and have them pay their attorney fees, this genocide will stop. Based on this video, New Jersey does not live up to its state slogan, “Liberty and Prosperity.” Where is there Liberty and Prosperity of innocent lives being killed by New Jersey Transit bus drivers and train engineers? Not only is NJ Transit hiring incompetent drivers; there subcontracted bus company, Coach USA is doing the same thing for the sake of money, not human safety. NJ Transit does not live up to its mission statement that safety is their priority, and Coach USA does not live up to its slogan “Driven to the best.” With this type of killing, there are no warning signs for the victims or notice to prevent them from being killed.

In 2009, the New Jersey DOT launched the “Complete Streets” policy to increase pedestrian and cyclist safety. Since then, over 30 municipalities have adopted their own Complete Streets policies, but most of the state’s largest cities and counties have not. It means that millions of New Jersey citizens commute in areas that are unsafe for pedestrians-and where almost 2,000 NJ Transit buses run nearly all day and night.

In 2012, there were 23 bus-pedestrian accidents, the same number as in 2008 and 2010. In 2011, there were 21. In 2014 there were 156 complaints related to NJ Transit drivers being distracted while behind the wheel, which was a dramatic 26 percent increase from distracted driving complaints received in 2013. Of the incidents between 2006 and this year, NJ Transit officials said, 17 were in Bergen County, six in Passaic County, and 55 in Essex County. In 2016 they had 256,482 crashes, 59,096 injuries, and 602 deaths; which was an increase in 2015. The bus driver’s death is dramatically increasing in New Jersey 2017 through 2018. When is this killing epidemic going to stop?

Bus safety starts with the bus driver and the maintenance of the bus. In many pedestrian striking incidents, the bus driver was driving too quickly, wasn’t paying attention, rude personality, or failed to yield right of way.

There are no annual statistics on pedestrian collisions in New Jersey, but federal agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DOT) do monitor trends. Nationwide, pedestrian-related fatalities are going down, but in the state of New Jersey, pedestrian collisions are on the rise. Between 160 and 190, pedestrians are killed every year in New Jersey traffic crashes.

Traffic safety researchers have proposed a number of theories for the increase, but the most likely explanation is also the simplest: More than 70% of all pedestrian collisions occur in urban areas, and New Jersey has both the highest population density in the nation and is urbanizing faster than any other state of the country.

In 2009, the New Jersey DOT launched the “Complete Streets” policy to increase pedestrian and cyclist safety. Since then, over 30 municipalities have adopted their own Complete Streets policies, but most of the state’s largest cities and counties have not. It means that millions of New Jersey citizens commute in areas that are unsafe for pedestrians-and where almost 2,000 NJ Transit buses run nearly all day and night.