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…)

The commercial bus industry is under fire following several accidents 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. (more…)

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…)

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…)

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…)