"Although these particular NTSB recommendations have not been directed to NASDPTS, they are still of interest to our members.  Many students throughout the country are transported in motorcoaches on longer field and activity trips, and we feel a responsibility to monitor any potential improvements to the safety of students, regardless of their mode of transport. Some of the recommendations also have potential direct application to school buses, such as the recommendation that NHTSA require all new motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds to be equipped with direct tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMSs).

The recommendations that NHTSA develop standards for anchorage and performance of luggage racks in motor coaches are particularly interesting, given the existing guideline within the 2005 National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (NSTSP) for school buses, which states “The interior of the bus shall be free of all unnecessary projections, which include luggage racks and attendant handrails, to minimize the potential for injury.”  Naturally, this and some of the motor coach recommendations have already been dealt with in the school bus world.  Another example is the school bus-specific Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 220, School Bus Rollover Protection, that specifies performance standards for the strength of school bus roofs.

While there may be some lessons in the NTSB’s recommendations for motor coach occupant protection, school buses have long been equipped with an effective passive passenger crash protection system (compartmentalization) that motor coaches lack.  The prior research and positions of the NTSB, NHTSA, and various safety organizations on the issue of school bus passenger crash protection are well known.  Last week in its Highway Safety Brief on the 2006 Huntsville, Alabama, school bus crash, the NTSB reiterated its call for improved safety of school bus passengers in side impacts and rollovers.  I would guess the recent confluence of federal agency activity, including the release of the Motor Coach Safety Action Plan by the USDOT, will help speed up NHTSA’s research into even greater occupant protection for both motor coaches and school buses.

As always, NASDPTS will continue to assist the federal agencies and provide comments to any proposed rulemaking that may arise from any of these recommendations."