Following Multiple Deadly Tour Bus Crashes, Sens. Brown and Hutchison Call for Passage of Sweeping Bus Safety Legislation

Press Release

Following deadly tour bus crashes in the northeast that claimed 17 lives in the past month alone, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) today called for the swift passage of bipartisan legislation to strengthen tour bus safety and improve driver training. Brown and Hutchison have introduced the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act in the previous two Congresses. U.S. Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) has introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"This month, our nation watched in horror as tour bus crashes claimed the lives of more than a dozen Americans, and here in Ohio, we live daily with the memory of seven lives that were cut short after a motorcoach carrying Bluffton University baseball players crashed in Atlanta," Sen. Brown said. "This is about common sense safety measures that can and should be adopted by tour bus companies. The Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act is based on national transportation safety recommendations that have languished for too long. Improvements to tour buses -- like seatbelts, fire extinguishers, increased driver training, and stronger windows --are neither exotic nor complicated. But since they are not required, they have not been installed in American tour buses, jeopardizing the safety of millions of American passengers each year. Action on this bill is long overdue."

"The federal government has an important and necessary role to play when it comes to promoting interstate transportation safety. The recent spate of deadly bus crashes once again brings the urgent need to improve motorcoach safety to our attention," Sen. Hutchison said. "The commonsense legislation Senator Brown and I have reintroduced will dramatically increase the safety of buses to reduce preventable tragedies. Congress must not wait for another deadly bus accident before we pass comprehensive bus safety legislation."

"The bus industry has grossly exaggerated the cost of putting these safety improvements in their vehicles that would save precious lives and reduce injuries each year," Joan Claybrook, former Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), said.

"Every year that enactment of this bill is delayed, millions of children and adults are at risk of death and injury in a serious motorcoach crash," said Jackie Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "It is time for Congress to direct federal agency action to keep unsafe motorcoach operators off our roads, and provide basic safety systems to protect passengers in a crash. The American public should not be treated as second class citizens just because they choose to travel by motorcoach rather than by plane or car."

"This bill will prevent injuries and save lives. Four years is long enough to wait for the passage of such critical but straight-forward bill that needs to be enacted now," John Betts, who lost his son David in the Bluffton University crash, said. "We need to get bad operators off the road, but it's not enough to ensure passenger safety in an accident. If you or your loved one is on that bus, you want to know that the vehicle is safe enough to withstand a crash. This bill will help ensure that."

Brown and Hutchison released data on the injuries and fatalities associated with recent tour bus crashes. From 1998-2009, there have been 409 fatal crashes in the U.S.

This afternoon, the Senate Committee of Commerce, Science, and Transportation--on which Hutchison serves as Ranking Member--will examine the legislation. Brown will testify before the committee at a hearing entitled: "Ensuring the Safety of Our Nation's Motorcoach Passengers."

Brown and Hutchison's Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act would reduce the number of motorcoach crashes and related fatalities. Brown and Hutchison first introduced the legislation following a 2007 crash of a tour bus carrying 33 Bluffton University baseball players that claimed seven lives. Last congress, the bill unanimously passed out of committee with broad bipartisan support but was held up on the floor, never receiving a full Senate vote.

Brown and Hutchison's Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act is based on National Transportation Safety Board recommendations--some of which were first proposed in 1968. The bill would require:

* Safety belts and stronger seating systems to ensure occupants stay in their seats in a crash.
* Improved commercial driver training. Currently, no training is required by federal regulation.
* Anti-ejection glazing windows to prevent passengers from being easily thrown outside the motorcoach.
* Strong, crush-resistant roofs that can withstand rollovers.
* Improved protection against fires by reducing flammability of the motorcoach interior, and better training for operators in the case of fire.
* A National Commercial Motor Vehicle Medical Registry to ensure that only medically qualified examiners conduct physical examinations of drivers and a medical certificate process to ensure that all certificates are valid and no unqualified operator is allowed to drive.
* Strengthened motorcoach vehicle safety inspections including roadside inspections, safety audits, and state and motor carrier programs for identifying vehicle defects.
* Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) with real-time capabilities to track precise vehicle location that cannot be tampered with by the driver.

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