WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Subcommittee hearing today on ensuring the safety of our nation’s motorcoach passengers.

Witness List:

Panel I

The Honorable Sherrod Brown, United States Senator, Ohio

Panel II 

The Honorable Anne Ferro, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

Mr. Ron Medford, Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

The Honorable Deborah Hersman, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 

Mr. Peter J. Pantuso, President and CEO, American Bus Association

The Honorable Joan Claybrook, Consumer Co-Chair, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and former NHTSA Administrator

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“When Americans travel to work, visit their families, or conduct business, they expect to arrive at their destinations safely and without incident. And whether they travel by plane, train, or bus, transportation providers have a responsibility to make sure their equipment is safe and their operators and drivers are trained and rested. The average traveler relies on our federal and state governments to conduct rigorous oversight to make certain these companies operate at the highest safety standards, and to weed out any bad actors that fail to operate at safe levels. In my judgment, the industry is not fulfilling its obligations to operate to the level of safety its passengers expect and deserve. I am concerned that the industry’s own oversight is lax, and our regulators are not holding operators sufficiently accountable. We simply must do more to protect passengers.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV 

"I’m concerned that the Department of Transportation (DOT) isn’t moving quickly enough to implement its 2009 Motorcoach Safety Action Plan to make motor coaches safer. Even though the DOT has met some of the deadlines included in the plan, it hasn’t finished writing the rules needed to make buses safer. Just because bus companies can discount prices doesn’t mean they can discount safety. If drivers are not fully trained, qualified and alert, they should not be trusted with the lives of dozens of passengers. We owe it to the public to make sure only the safest companies are allowed to operate motor coaches—and that only the safest drivers are behind the wheel."

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Chairman, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security

“This is about common sense safety measures that can and should be adopted by tour bus companies. The Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act is based on national transportation safety recommendations that have languished for too long. Improvements to tour buses—like seatbelts, fire extinguishers, increased driver training, and stronger windows—are neither exotic nor complicated. But since they are not required, they have not been installed in American tour buses, jeopardizing the safety of millions of American passengers each year. Action on this bill is long overdue.”

The Honorable Sherrod Brown, United States Senator, Ohio

“We at FMCSA are committed to doing everything we can to prevent tragedies like [the ones this month in New York and New Jersey] from happening again. We have significantly increased our regulatory and enforcement actions over the past several years to improve passenger safety. However, the tragic events this month indicate that we have more to do at the Federal level and in working with our State and local enforcement partners. As we go forward with efforts to reauthorize our highway safety program, we look forward to working with [the Committee] to develop a plan that will help achieve great strides in the coming years.”

The Honorable Anne Ferro, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

“Motorcoach safety is a priority for the NHTSA, and we have been working very aggressively in this area. We know that although motorcoach crashes may be relatively rare, when they do happen, they can cause a significant number of fatalities and serious injuries in a single event. In 2009, NHTSA worked with other modal administrations in the DOT to develop a comprehensive systems-oriented safety strategy for enhancing motorcoach safety—the DOT Motorcoach Safety Action Plan. NHTSA is devoting a significant amount of its research and rulemaking resources toward improving the safety of motorcoaches and the recent crashes in New York and New Jersey highlight why we must continue to do so. We believe our work in critical safety areas complement recommendations issued by the NTSB and draft legislation currently being considered by the Congress to improve motorcoach safety.”

Mr. Ron Medford, Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

“Unlike when travelers get in their own automobiles, passengers boarding a motorcoach place their lives in the hands of the motorcoach operator and its driver. They expect, and they deserve, the highest reasonable level of safety. Although the NTSB can investigate only a fraction of highway accidents, we have investigated a number of motorcoach accidents over the years and have made recommendations to improve the safety of motorcoach transportation. We currently have a total of 166 open safety recommendations issued to the DOT, NHTSA, FMCSA, Federal Highway Administration, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration combined, 100 of which relate to motorcoach safety.”

The Honorable Deborah Hersman, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board

“The fight to make bus travel safer is one that the American Bus Association (ABA) has been in the forefront of for many years. Over the last six years I and other ABA staff have testified several times before Congress on this issue and what is required to make bus travel safer. In all our testimony our conclusions have been consistent. There is an unfortunate lack of money and other resources, as well as inconsistent enforcement of the existing safety regulations. Many of the issues ABA raised in 2005 have recently begun to be addressed but overall it is still too easy for financially marginal individuals to obtain authority to operate; and it is too easy for individuals to obtain and keep a commercial driver’s license. Since 2005 the ABA has advanced specific proposals that if implemented will lead to a safer industry.”

Mr. Peter J. Pantuso, President and CEO, American Bus Association

“Motorcoach safety is a serious concern for anyone who relies on and uses this growing and affordable mode of transportation. Passenger transportation safety by over-the-road motorcoaches is not held to the high safety standards of commercial passenger aviation. Motorcoach crashes can take many lives in a single event and inflict severe injuries on numerous passengers. NTSB’s studies and crash reports document the deadly outcome of a catastrophic motorcoach crash, and its safety recommendations provide solutions that will dramatically improve motorcoach safety. Because DOT and the safety agencies have not implemented recommended safety countermeasures, despite having had ample opportunity to do so and reams of supporting evidence, Congress must take action to increase the level of motorcoach safety and improve the quality of federal and state oversight.

The Honorable Joan Claybrook, Consumer Co-Chair, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and former NHTSA Administrator

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