FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 18, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison Calls for Congress to Pass Bus Safety Legislation at Senate Hearing, Press Conference
Joins Safety Advocates, Families of Crash Victims, and Industry Experts to Raise Awareness
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today highlighted the need for massive bus safety reforms at a Capitol Hill press conference, and then at a Senate subcommittee oversight hearing on motorcoach safety. They have introduced a bill to help reduce deaths and injuries caused by motorcoach accidents, and were joined by family members of crash victims and survivors, safety advocates, and industry experts to call on the Senate to pass safety reforms.
“There are too many families grieving because of buses that are not in good repair, that are not correctly certified, that don’t have certified drivers, and buses that could have seatbelts but don’t, that could have reinforced windows, but don’t; that could have stronger roofs, but don’t. All of these things are what we want to do in our bill to correct,” said Sen. Hutchison. “Senator Brown and I have introduced an aggressive bill that we must pass this year. Without it, we’re doomed for more preventable motor coach accidents.”
“It’s clear that we need stronger motorcoach safety regulations. Now it’s time for action,” said Sen. Brown. “We cannot wait until motorcoaches are on the road to worry about safety— we need to do so before they are built. I commend Chairman Lautenberg for taking up this important issue. Federal action can prevent future tragedies.”
At the Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday, family members who have lost children or parents in bus crashes in Texas and Ohio shared their stories of loss and urged lawmakers to prevent these tragedies from happening to other families. Representatives from manufacturers Motor Coach Industries and Meritor WABCO demonstrated new technologies on a bus outfitted with the safety features required in the bill.
The press conference was followed by a hearing of the Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Subcommittee to review the safety of over-the-road buses and the effectiveness of current regulations governing bus safety. Stephen Forman of Beaumont, whose daughter was severely injured in the West Brook High School soccer team crash in 2006, testified, as well as John Betts, father of a student-athlete victim of the Bluffton University baseball team accident. Representatives from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also gave testimony.
The Brown-Hutchison legislation, The Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2007 (S. 2326), would mandate the use of seatbelts on all motorcoaches, require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to upgrade federal safety standards applicable to motorcoaches and take action to improve the operational requirements of drivers and companies. The bill has two primary goals: the raise the survivability of passengers in bus accidents, and to prevent accidents from happening in the first place.
“I thank the committee for having this hearing so that we will be able to move the bill forward. I hope this bill will come out with committee input this year, and we’ll be able to do something for the future travelers in our states and in our country,” said Sen. Hutchison at the hearing.
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