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New Congressional Bill (H.R.4690) would study motorcoach safety
Submitted by atu 1512 on January 15, 2008 - 9:02am.A bill sponsored by congressman Bill Shuster of PA. would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study improvement to motorcoach safety. It is in response to the devastating Bluffton University coach accident in Atlanta, Ga.(March, 2007) and, if successful in Congress, is known as the Bluffton University Safety Act.
After conducting a study, NHTSA would prescribe federal standards for motorcoach occupant protection, taking into account rollovers, frontal impact, side impact and rear impact collisions. NHTSA would provide standards for window glazing, roof strength, fire prevention and emergency egress. This would also study the safety impact of seat belt requirements (which already exist in all of Europe, Australia and New Zealand).
Unlike other bills which would immediately establish new requirements for buses, the Shuster bill is based on sound-science and timelines that the industry can actually achieve.