The U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled a five-pronged approach today designed to increase motorcoach vehicle and passenger safety.

The new motorcoach safety plan, which was shared with a representative of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services in September during a private meeting with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and other motorcoach stakeholders, includes crash avoidance technology, increased occupant protection through seat belt systems and better evacuation, improved vehicle maintenance, operator oversight and enhanced data collection and analysis.

“They seem to be on the right track and welcomed our feedback as well as others from around the room,” said Derek Graham, past-president of NASDPTS and the transportation chief for the North Carolina Office of Public Instruction, who attended the meeting in Washington, D.C.

LaHood first called upon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to begin developing a safety action plan in late April as two separate pieces of legislation aimed at improving motorcoach safety hit the senate. The National Transportation Safety Board has also been calling for occupant safety belts in motorcoaches since 1999.

The study began in August and included additional occupant protection tests and a motorcoach rollover crash test. As laid out by the safety plan, several new federal vehicle safety rules could result. The DOT seeks to require electronic on-board recording devices for all motorcoaches to better monitor drivers’ duty hours and manage fatigue, require the installation of seat belts on motorcoaches to improve occupant protection, and prohibit texting and limit the use of cell phones and other mobile devices by motorcoach drivers.

“We are committed to making sure that bus travelers reach their destinations safely,” said LaHood in a statement. “These improvements will not only help reduce the number of motorcoach crashes, it will also help save lives and reduce injuries.”

The new motorcoach safety plan also seeks to evaluate and develop roof crush performance requirements to enhance structural integrity, develop performance requirements and assess the safety benefits for stability control systems to reduce rollovers, enhance oversight of motorcoach carriers attempting to evade sanctions for vehicle maintenance and driver hours- of-service violations, and to establish minimum knowledge requirements prospective new commercial drivers.

“Frankly, I think the [DOT] did a remarkable job,” said Ken Pressley, vice president of industry relations for the United Motorcoach Association. “The devil’s always in the details, as a lot of this still must go to rulemaking. But mostly it’s a big, big step in the right direction. Overall, the department’s efforts will result in reduced fatalities and significantly reduced injuries.

"I think, if properly implemented, it will raise the professionalism of the industry and the image.”