[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 41 (Monday, March 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2912-S2913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mrs. Hutchison):
  S. 554. A bill to improve the safety of motorcoaches, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, last week was the two year anniversary of a 
horrific motorcoach crash involving the Bluffton University baseball 
team. Seven Ohioans--Tyler Williams, Cody Holp, Scott Harmon, Zack 
Arend, David Joseph Betts, and Jerome and Jean Niemeyer--lost their 
lives that day.
  As their bus rolled along Interstate-75 on March 2, 2007, the 
Bluffton players and coaches were hours away from beginning their 
spring break in Florida. But as the team slept in preparation for their 
season opener later in the week, their motorcoach crashed through a 
retaining wall and fell thirty feet to the highway below.
  Since then I have talked with family members of the players on the 
bus that day and other passenger safety advocates, and time and again 
the conversations came back to one thing: we need commonsense 
motorcoach safety measures that will protect both passengers and other 
motorists on the road.
  In the 110th Congress, Senator Hutchison and I introduced the 
Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act to finally require basic safety devices 
like seat belts and stronger windows on motorcoaches.

[[Page S2913]]

  Bus trips should not turn into tragedies, and that is why today we 
are again introducing the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2009. We 
need these new standards now to ensure the safety of every rider and 
driver on the road.
  In 2007, the American Bus Association reported that over 750 million 
passenger trips covering more than 60 billion miles were made by 
motorcoaches in the United States.
  More and more people are choosing buses for their transportation, and 
it seems every week you read about another serious motorcoach accident 
. . . the crash involving a minor-league hockey team from Albany, New 
York; the fatal motorcoach accidents in Texas; the tour bus crash in 
Arizona that killed 7 passengers. The number of serious accidents and 
tragic deaths will only grow if we do not take action.
  Our legislation directs the Secretary of the Department of 
Transportation to implement numerous safety regulations already 
recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. Incredibly, 
many of these recommendations--including seatbelts, fire extinguishers, 
increased driver training, and stronger windows--have languished for 
years.
  Our bill places firm timelines on the development and implementation 
of these rules and does so in a manner consistent with the 
recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board--the 
guardian of our Nation's travel safety.
  This includes safety belts and stronger seating systems to ensure 
occupants stay in their seats in a crash.
  Stronger and better glazing on windows to prevent passengers from 
being easily ejected out of the motorcoach, crush-resistant roofs that 
can better withstand rollovers, improved protection against fires by 
reducing flammability of the motorcoach interior, and better training 
for operators in the case of fire.
  John Betts' son David was a second baseman on the Bluffton baseball 
team and was on the bus when it crashed in Atlanta 2 years ago. Mr. 
Betts lost his son in that tragic accident, but has since been a 
tireless advocate for motorcoach safety reform.
  In testimony before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface 
Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and 
Security, Mr. Betts said:

       Motorcoach transportation may be one of the safest modes 
     when you look at statistics of lives lost per miles traveled 
     compared to other modes of transportation. However, as family 
     members here today representing those who had a loved one die 
     in such a crash, our first response is that such statistics 
     are not comforting. As a father, am I to disregard David's 
     death as his being one of the unlucky few? As NTSB 
     recommendations languish here in the United States, Europe 
     and Australia have already required basic occupant safety 
     protection measures such as seat belts.

  Mr. Betts eloquent words challenge Congress to take action so that 
other Americans do not tragically, needlessly, lose their lives, and it 
is my hope that we will swiftly pass this long overdue bill.

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