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NTSB: Bus safety recommendations need 'urgency'
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06/01/11 04:55 PM ET
A member of the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that its recommendations to improve the safety of passenger buses need to be taken more seriously in the wake of a fatal crash in Northern Virginia over the weekend.
NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said on the panel's Safety Compass blog that the agency, which is investigating the accident, has recommended changes for years. Among them are stronger roofs, emergency exits and higher standards for passenger seating compartments, he said.
The agency has also recommended lane-departure warning systems and collision-monitors.
The problem, Sumwalt said Wednesday, is that the recommendations have not gone anywhere.
"The NTSB has issued many motorcoach safety recommendations based on our accident investigations," he wrote. "Three of those issues are on our Most Wanted List. Unfortunately, there has been no sense of urgency on these recommendations, some of which are nearly ten years old. The result? We continue to investigate accidents where the same things happen."
Sumwalt chaired an NTSB forum last month about motorcoach and truck safety, the first such event held by the agency since 1999. Sumwalt said there been progress made on bus safety since then, but "there is much more work to be done to avoid tragic accidents such as the one on Tuesday morning in Virginia."
Congress has held hearings about the subject and Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have renewed their call for legislation to require seatbelts on buses.
NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said on the panel's Safety Compass blog that the agency, which is investigating the accident, has recommended changes for years. Among them are stronger roofs, emergency exits and higher standards for passenger seating compartments, he said.
The agency has also recommended lane-departure warning systems and collision-monitors.
The problem, Sumwalt said Wednesday, is that the recommendations have not gone anywhere.
"The NTSB has issued many motorcoach safety recommendations based on our accident investigations," he wrote. "Three of those issues are on our Most Wanted List. Unfortunately, there has been no sense of urgency on these recommendations, some of which are nearly ten years old. The result? We continue to investigate accidents where the same things happen."
Sumwalt chaired an NTSB forum last month about motorcoach and truck safety, the first such event held by the agency since 1999. Sumwalt said there been progress made on bus safety since then, but "there is much more work to be done to avoid tragic accidents such as the one on Tuesday morning in Virginia."
Congress has held hearings about the subject and Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have renewed their call for legislation to require seatbelts on buses.
