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Time to pony up

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues to push for the motorcoach industry to add seat belts to protect passengers.

In Australia, seat belts have been required in motorcoaches since 1994, while the European Union has made them mandatory since 1997. Texas will be the first in the U.S. to require seat belts on all tour buses chartered for school trips starting in 2011.

There are arguments on both sides – for or against – adding seat belts on both school buses and motorcoaches. Historically, science has made a strong case that motorcoaches are a safe form of transportation without passenger restraint systems; however, recent history has proven that they would have been vital in protecting the life of passengers during motorcoach accidents, such as the one in Mexican Hat, Utah last January.

Today, the argument against adding seat belts on coaches comes down to securing monies to retrofit buses. Since the NTSB is pushing so hard for the industry to add seat belts, then it’s up to the feds to come up with a way to help foot the bill. 

Alex Roman, Managing Editor

posted @ Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:44 AM

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Comments on this entry:

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Mike at 6/25/2009 12:34 PM
It's another silly waste of money. Several friends of mine have bought 09 coaches with seat belts and no one wears them anyway!

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Charles Trainor at 6/25/2009 2:17 PM
Regardless of who pays for installing seat belts on buses, the question of whether a passenger would use one is meaningless. I use them in my car. And I did so long before laws were passed to require their use.

I would use one on a bus, and I would require my children to use them. But that is no longer my choice if the bus manufacturers do not provide belts. If all accidents were simple collisions, perhaps the coach and seat design is adequate. But being flung around a coach in a rollover is a different issue.

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Dave at 6/25/2009 2:43 PM
I honestly don't see a problem especially when it involves children, but I am not sure you can mandate adults to wear them.

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Marybeth at 6/25/2009 8:22 PM
Finally!! It has always been baffling to me why we have and use seat belts in our personal vehicles, but don't have the option for one or inclination to request one on a bus or train. Airplanes have them - why not other forms of mass transit? All new model passenger carrying vehicles should be outfitted with seatbelts. As for whether or not passengers will wear them, make it the law. Wearing seatbelts in passenger vehicles is mandatory in the state where I live. It ought to be the same on transit and rail. Think of how many lives would be saved if bodies were not propelled at one another with deadly force inside vehicles involved in collisions.

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Mike Kavanagh, Australia at 6/25/2009 10:24 PM
In the last 9 months there have been 4 deaths of passengers in seat belt equipped coaches as a result of rol1 overs in Australia. Yes, the problem is getting people to belt up. An education program is needed, especially with tour guides who like to roam up and down the aisle playing games, etc. They must lead by example. Good luck!

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Richard Gunn at 6/26/2009 4:32 AM
Another issue is the maintenance of the seat belts. Several years ago I approached the seat belt and seat manufacturers to determine the acceptance/rejection inspection criteria for seat belts on buses. Neither industry would supply the information.

# re: Time to pony up

Left by LJ708 at 6/26/2009 4:32 AM
Commercial passenger vehicles should be equipped with seatbelts. As for whether or not passengers will wear them is all together a different story, so make it the law. Make it to where the passengers who won't wear them won't ride, or company enforcement since they carry the resposibility. Also, while on the subject of safety, if the vehicle industry is continously being reminded of making travel a safer venture then motorcycles in all states, riders should be required to wear a helmet too!

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Robert Ator at 6/26/2009 6:47 AM
Far too often, the bus driver is at fault, or the bus is not in safe operating consition, resulting in or contributing to the accident. Throwing seat belts at the problem is not a cure-all. I actually have no objection to outfitting buses with seat belts, but enforcement can certainly adversely affect business and may be impractical. If we want enforcement so fewer people are injured in or killed in accidents, how about enforcing traffic laws? I respectfully offer that requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets is not the answer to saving lives either. Just last year in a nearby town, a motorcyle police officer I knew rear-ended a car at less than 30 mph, evidently simply not watching, and was thrown into the car's rear window, dying on impact - despite wearing a helmet. I am simply amazed at the incredible number of traffic law violations and poor driving habits I observe every time I drive. This despite driver education - we need to treat driving as the privilege it is, not as the right people seem to think it is.

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Jan van Eck at 6/26/2009 7:21 PM
If seatbelts become mandatory, then what will be the protocol if a belt or buckle fails or is damaged by a passenger on tour? Is the bus now instantly out-of-service? So then what? Does the bus driver become the mechanic, to replace the belt set? And presuming it is bolted in with through-bolts, how does the driver accomplish this in the field? Let us remember that passenger ejections through "mandatory" opening windows is the root cause of bus fatalities in overturns. Seems more logical to make the windows permanently shut. Nobody is going to go crawling out a window anyway; too high off the ground, and today's passengers are far too elderly or obese in any event.

# re: Time to pony up

Left by Jeff Brown at 7/6/2009 12:18 PM
This problem is best addressed in stages. Seat belts are best in a long distance coach bus, where riders remain seated and are also at greater risk because of the high speeds. We're already used to seat belts on airplanes, which travel long distances at high speeds.

Short-haul vehicles should be second. These passengers will strain the buckles and are more likely to use the belts as weapons. Seat belts make great weapons. It's a heavy buckle on the end of a long strap. They're enough to strangle a child or immobilize a grownup.

We can't simply require seatbelts system-wide with the stroke of a pen. We need to put some thought into this.

# re: Time to pony up

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Contributors

Alex Roman
Alex Roman is Managing Editor of Metro Magazine.

Nicole Schlosser
Nicole is Associate Editor for METRO Magazine.

Dan Reichard
Dan Reichard, a long-time member of the transit industry, was installed into APTA's Hall of Fame in 2006 and is an honorary member of APTA's Business Member Board of Governors.

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