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For Immediate Release September 18th, 2008 |
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SENATOR HUTCHISON CALLS FOR IMPROVED BUS SAFETY STANDARDS | |
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today called for improved safety of over-the-road buses and enhanced National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations governing bus safety during a Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee hearing on improving bus safety. Senator Hutchison is a cosponsor of legislation, S. 2326, the Motor Coach Enhanced Safety Act of 2008, to address bus safety nationwide. The measure would improve performance standards for passenger buses, including impact protection, rollover stability, flammability reduction, and collision avoidance technology.
· safety belts on all buses;
· safety technology, such as interior impact protection, rollover stability, flammability reduction, window glazing, and collision avoidance, on all buses;
· the Secretary of Transportation to inspect bus companies and bus operators and assign each carrier a safety rating at least every three years;
· the Secretary of Transportation to establish a training curriculum for drivers to be adopted by state and local governments. Any driver seeking a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) would need to attend a training program with one of these approved curricula; and
· the use of Electronic On-Board Recorders on all commercial motor vehicles, including buses and trucks.
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