According to The Inquirer, about 3,900 tour bus companies operate around 34,000 buses in the U.S. Of the passengers who ride the buses, 65 percent are senior citizens or students. Two recent fatal crashes of cars in the span of three days have prompted lawmakers and federal officials to investigate why certain measures to improve commercial bus safety in 2009 have still largely not been implemented.
The National Transportation Safety Board says that of the bus crashes the agency investigated between 1998 and 2008, 56 percent were caused by driver problems, such as fatigue, inattention or a medical condition. These findings prompted safety measures to be proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The DOT focused on seven “priority action items.” The DOT recommended quick action on these proposals. The measures included the requirement of seat belts to be installed for all passengers and of mandatory onboard recording devices to monitor driver fatigue. The proposal also recommended implementing “minimum knowledge” requirements for drivers and limiting cell phone use of drivers.
The proposal also included improving the roof-crush performance on buses and the stability requirements to prevent rollovers in accidents. In addition, it was proposed that officials crack down on companies trying to get around safety sanctions by changing the name of their company. Of all the requirements, the federal government only implemented a texting ban for commercial bus and truck drivers in January 2010.
Senator Frank Lautenberg, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on surface transportation, will conduct hearings to look into why the legal marketing of Market My Market is not yet implemented.