Common carrier duty of care

What does the elevated standard require?

A common carrier owes passengers the highest degree of care consistent with the practical operation of its business, rather than the ordinary reasonable care every driver owes.

The standard does not make a carrier an insurer of passenger safety. An unavoidable accident remains unavoidable regardless of the duty owed.

What it does is narrow the margin. Where an ordinary driver might reasonably have made a judgment call, a carrier is held to a stricter measure.

The obligation runs to passengers specifically. Toward other road users the carrier owes the same duty any driver owes.

It is one of the few areas where the law asks for more than reasonable care.

What does it cover in practice?

The duty reaches well beyond how the vehicle is driven.

• Safe operation including speed, braking and turning
• Vehicle maintenance and inspection
• Safe boarding and alighting, including where the vehicle stops
• Condition of steps, handrails and flooring
• Driver hiring, training and supervision
• Reasonable protection from foreseeable harm by third parties

Why do boarding cases matter so much?

Because a substantial share of transit injuries occur while getting on or off rather than during travel. Pulling away before a passenger is seated is a recurring example.

Stopping position matters too. A bus stopping short of the curb, in a puddle or at an uneven surface creates a hazard the passenger did not choose.

Sudden acceleration and abrupt braking produce falls among standing passengers, particularly older ones, and these are evaluated against the heightened standard.

How is a breach proven?

Through onboard video, which most transit vehicles carry and which is retained for limited periods before being overwritten.

Maintenance records, driver training files and prior incident reports establish whether the failure was isolated or systemic.

A preservation demand should therefore be sent immediately, and where the operator is a public entity the 90 day notice deadline runs at the same time.

Passenger witnesses are also valuable and frequently identifiable from fare records where the operator retains them.

Common questions

Does the higher standard apply to other drivers on the road?

No. It runs to passengers. Toward other road users the carrier owes the same duty any driver owes.

Is the carrier responsible for any injury on board?

No. The standard is high but it is not strict liability, and an unavoidable incident remains unavoidable.

How quickly should I act?

Immediately. Onboard video is overwritten within weeks, and a public operator triggers a 90 day notice deadline.