Injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident are the most common personal injury cases worldwide. Preventing these accidents can be quite simple in many cases. By paying attention and driving safely a driver can have a greater chance of avoiding a crash. However, a safe driver can only do much when a completely negligent, reckless or drunk driver is also on the road. In these cases, there may be no way to avoid a collision.

More troubling, however, is when a driver who is in charge of transporting a large number of people exhibits dangerous driving behavior. These drivers put the lives of every passenger in jeopardy.

Many Chicago residents are familiar with the low-cost bus service called Megabus. The bus serves cities all across the Midwest and is a popular option for traveling. One Megabus driver was recently sentenced to 77 days in jail for driving his bus from Chicago to Iowa City to Des Moines while under the influence of alcohol.

The bus driver was stopped by a state trooper in Iowa for unspecified reasons. The officer determined he was impaired and arrested the 53-year-old driver. He was recently sentenced to serve 77 days in jail for his negligence. The judge specified that the number of days he would spend in jail represent the number of innocent lives he put at risk. There were 77 passengers onboard the bus at the time he was pulled over.

While none of the people on the bus were injured, they were certainly put in harm's way. A person expects an interstate bus driver to be safe and sober when transporting so many people. In situations when a person does get injured by such a negligent driver, however, it is likely that the driver could be held responsible for any damages or injuries that result from an accident.

Source: Chicago Tribune, "Megabus driver sentenced to jail in Iowa for OWI," Feb. 16, 2012