FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 17, 2008 SB-08-03
NTSB CHAIRMAN HIGHLIGHTS VALUE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES AND CRASH TESTING IN MOTORCOACH SAFETY
Washington, DC - Challenging the nation's motorcoach industry to build on its past accomplishments and embrace emerging vehicle safety technologies, NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker called for a proactive, multi-faceted approach to improving safety on America's roadways.
In a speech at the United Motorcoach Association's annual meeting in San Francisco today, Rosenker encouraged the industry to partner with federal regulators and embrace technological innovations that can prevent accidents. "It is time to implement safety improvements that provide crash mitigation and bridge the gap to the future, by entering a new era where safety technology will also help us prevent accidents," said Rosenker.
Calling the development of enhanced vehicle safety technologies "one of the most encouraging developments in transportation safety in a very long time," Rosenker cited electronic stability control, and systems that provide drivers warnings to prevent lane departures and imminent collisions as among the technologies that, if implemented, have the potential to further improve motorcoach safety.
Rosenker also emphasized the importance of crash testing to help federal regulators and the industry better understand crashworthiness issues. Lauding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its first crash test of a full size motorcoach into a rigid barrier in December 2007, Rosenker said that crash testing is "a major step forward for motorcoach safety and occupant protection research," and is something that the Safety Board has advocated for decades.
In addition, Rosenker announced that in 2008 the Safety Board would likely issue two reports involving motorcoaches in its continuing efforts to find ways to improve safety for travelers on the nation's highways.
The full text of Chairman Rosenker's speech is available here.
NTSB Media Contact: Peter Knudson
202-314-6100, peter.knudson@ntsb.gov