Senate joins attempt to pass bus safety bill after horrific accidents

A recent series of horrific bus accidents, including one in New York that killed 15 people and injured 18 others in March, 2011, has spurred some members of Congress to try to take action. It is an uphill battle, though, and the proposed bus safety legislation faces strong opposition.

A disproportionate number of fatalities are occurring in curbside tour buses, which pick up passengers on the street rather than in bus terminals. Curbside buses have a crash fatality rate that is seven times higher than that of traditional terminal-based buses.
Owners of curbside bus companies that have been cited for safety violations may continue to operate under different names. For example, the owner of the company involved in the horrendous New York accident in March still does business through other companies he owns, even though the particular bus line involved in the crash was shut down and the driver indicted for manslaughter.

Curbside buses have become increasingly popular in recent years because of their low cost, which makes the safety problem even more urgent.

In the Senate, Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison and Democrat Sherrod Brown have co-sponsored a bill that would require bus companies to adopt a series of safety measures, including installing seatbelts, improving driver training, installing anti-ejection windows and stronger roofs, using less flammable materials and requiring more safety inspections. Hutchison and Brown first introduced bus safety legislation in 2007. The current bill is stalled in the Senate, with opponents concerned about the costs to the bus companies, which would be passed on to riders.

Source: The New York Times, “Buckle Up on Buses,” Dec. 25, 2011