WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today applauded the announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that all new motorcoaches and other large buses will have lap and shoulder seat belts for passengers beginning in November 2016. Following a bus crash involving members of the Bluffton University baseball team, Brown worked alongside Ohio families—including John and Joy Betts, whose son David died in the Bluffton accident—to introduce bipartisan legislation addressing tour bus safety. Seven Ohioans died in the Bluffton University crash, including five members of the baseball team.

“Today is a good day for the families who have fought for safer tour buses. Equipping buses with seat belts is a common-sense safety measure that is long overdue,” Brown said. “We must remain vigilant toward implementing other safety measures such as stronger roofs and windows to increase passenger safety on buses.”

In June 2012, Brown’s bipartisan Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011 was signed in to law by President Obama as part of the highway bill reauthorization. Brown originally introduced the legislation alongside Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) in 2007; again in 2009; and finally in 2011.

The Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act is based on National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, some of which were first proposed in 1968. The announcement by the NHTSA is a first step toward full implementation of the safety standards required in the law. Several motorcoach and large bus companies have voluntarily begun purchasing buses with seat belts before the November 2016 deadline. 

The bill would require:

  • Safety belts and stronger seating systems to ensure occupants stay in their seats in a crash.
  • Improved commercial driver training. Currently, no training is required by Federal regulation.
  • Anti-ejection glazing windows to prevent passengers from being easily thrown outside the motorcoach.
  • Strong, crush-resistant roofs that can withstand rollovers.
  • Improved protection against fires by reducing flammability of the motorcoach interior, and better training for operators in the case of fire.
  • A National Commercial Motor Vehicle Medical Registry to ensure that only medically qualified examiners conduct physical examinations of drivers and a medical certificate process to ensure that all certificates are valid and no unqualified operator is allowed to drive.
  • Strengthened motorcoach vehicle safety inspections, including roadside inspections, safety audits, and state and motor carrier programs for identifying vehicle defects.
  • Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) with real-time capabilities to track precise vehicle location that cannot be tampered with by the driver.

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