Following several bus accidents in recent years that have left many dead and scores injured, the commercial bus industry has been under fire for its safety record. The Obama administration announced yesterday that it plans on proposing safety regulations for long-distance buses, reported the Associated Press. The proposal will include stronger standards for the vehicles’ roofs, as well as seatbelts.

In 1968, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) first announced a recommendation to add seat belts to large nationwide buses; however, today, most buses do not offer seatbelts, an issue cited in many deadly accidents. The NTSB is the agency that investigates serious transportation crashes and issues and has been the most persistent in calling for safety improvements such as: Three-point seat belts, stronger windows, stronger roofs, heat sensors, fire suppression devices, increased driver certification requirements, training, and more vigorous inspection and monitoring of bus companies. More Seatbelts for Motorcoach Buses Proposed

The commercial bus industry is under fire following several accidents The Boxer release in recent years that have left many dead and scores injured. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has criticized Department of Transportation regulators for negligence, unanimously voting to cite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for not implementing important safety standards, said the Washington Post.

Late last year, we pointed out that while airline crashes tend to receive more press, many travelers die in bus and train accidents as well, noting the August 2008 bus crash that killed 17 people traveling from Houston to a religious event, the Atlanta bus accident the prior year involving Bluffton University athletes, and the 2002 Texas bus accident involving Texas church campers.

The NTSB vote followed an investigation of a January 2008 Utah “rollover” crash in which nine died and 43 were injured, said the Washington Post. That crash was attributed to “driver fatigue,” said the Washington Post; however, it was the NHTSA’s stalling that did not enable safety standards for bus riders that added to the crash’s seriousness, it reported. Investigators discovered that the 71-year-old driver was, on the night of the crash, fatigued, which resulted in him to speed—between 88 and 92 miles per hour at the time of the crash—and lose control of the vehicle, reported the Washington Post. The investigation also revealed that just prior to the deadly crash, the driver reported being ill “with a head cold,” and “may have experienced altitude sickness, and was losing sleep nightly, possibly as a result of sleep apnea, the investigators said,” according to the Washington Post.

This points to problems with medical oversight, which is handled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an agency within the transportation department, explained the Washington Post. The Board had issue with the agency because it did not respond to medical recommendations from an external advisory board that discussed sleep apnea, said the Washington Post. “It points up again the holes in the system…. I can’t find where we are getting at this particular issue,” said board member Kitty Higgins, quoted the Washington Post. Apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing stops for periods of time.

According to Mark V. Rosenker, NTSB acting chairman, the board was disturbed at the regulators’ “crawl toward” updated policies, adding, “It’s like looking at NHTSA back in the ’60s. They began to make great improvements in our automobiles, but virtually nothing has been done in motorcoaches for decades,” quoted the Washington Post. Deborah Hersman, a safety board member with the board for five years said that one of her early cases involved bus safety, telling the Washington Post, “I’m being told almost five years later that NHTSA is working on it.” Meanwhile, Rae Tyson, NHTSA spokesman, argued that it is working on new regulations and officials there say, “the process shouldn’t be rushed,” according to the Washington Post.

One long ongoing, unaddressed safety issue remains why basic recommendations made years ago have never been implemented.

This lack of action has confused safety advocates for an astounding 40 years. In 1968 NTSB first announced a recommendation to add seat belts to large nationwide buses; however, today, most buses do not offer seatbelts. The NTSB is the agency that investigates serious transportation crashes and issues and has been the most persistent in calling for safety improvements such as: Three-point seat belts, stronger windows, stronger roofs, heat sensors, fire suppression devices, stronger driver certification requirements, training, and more vigorous inspection and monitoring of bus companies.

It seems that Mexican-made buses—not constructed to U.S. standards—are crossing the border and entering the U.S.  Because they are involved in international trade, the buses are not considered imports, according to a federal inquiry. Volvo manufactures buses in Mexico to meet European, not U.S. standards.

“We want to close the barn door,” said Debbie Hersman, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member leading the investigation into how, on January 2, a Houston-based bus company owned by Capricorn Bus Lines crashed a 2005 Volvo bus near Victoria. “There are already some horses out.”  The bus was bringing back Houston residents from Monterrey, Mexico. More NTSB Investigation Reveals Loophole Allows Substandard Buses From Mexico into U.S.

While airline crashes tend to get more press, many travelers die in bus and train accidents as well.  Take for instance the recent bus crash in August that killed 17 people who were traveling from Houston to a religious event, or the Atlanta bus accident last year that involved the Bluffton University baseball team or the 2002 Texas bus accident that involved Texas church campers.

Jim Hall, formerly of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)—Hall chaired the NTSB from 1994 to 2001—agrees that the traveling public is treated to a different standard if they are on a bus instead of an airliner or train.  Further, some of those who died in the two Texas and the Georgia accidents might have survived if a few basic safety propositions, such as seat belts and stronger windows, had been adopted.  “There’s a strong safety culture in aviation that has been supported by the aviation community, in which fatalities are unacceptable,” Hall said. “That same culture we haven’t had on our highways.  I wish I could explain it.” More Ex-NTSB Chief Confirms Safety Standards Less for Buses

Following a fatal Texas bus crash earlier this month, federal authorities have been cracking down on bus companies with spotty safety records. But according to a report in The Houston Chronicle, revoking a rogue bus company’s license to operate might not be enough to guarantee public safety.

The August 8th Texas bus accident, which killed 17 people, was the nation’s deadliest bus crash since 2005. The charter bus, owned by a company called Iguala Busmex, was taking a group of Vietnamese Catholics to a religious festival in Missouri. The vehicle blew an illegally treaded tire, skidded off the highway and overturned. In addition to the deaths, 38 people were injured. More Dangerous Buses Still on the Road Thanks to Poor Oversight