[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Page 31370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MOTORCOACH ENHANCED SAFETY ACT

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, on March 1, 2007, the Bluffton University 
baseball team left Ohio for a tournament in Florida.
  Early the next morning on Interstate 75 in Atlanta, their trip came 
to a tragic halt when their motorcoach, attempting to exit the highway, 
fell off an overpass and landed on its side on the road below.
  The crash resulted in the deaths of five members of the baseball 
team: Tyler Williams, Cody Holp, Scott Harmon, Zack Arend, David Joseph 
Betts. The driver, Jerome Niemeyer, and his wife Jean were also killed 
in the crash. Many of the other 33 passengers were treated for 
injuries.
  For John Betts, who lost his son David in the crash, it was important 
to take the accident and make it into something positive, in honor of 
his son and the other bright, talented young men who died that morning. 
Motorcoach safety became his crusade.
  Mr. Betts has been interviewed by the media, local and national, 
bringing to light the need for stronger motorcoach safety regulations.
  He has called for seatbelts for all passengers as well as other 
regulations that lower the risk of injury or fatality in accidents.
  Mr. Betts sees upgrading the safety laws for motorcoaches as an 
opportunity to save the lives of future riders.
  More importantly, he sees it as a way to memorialize David and his 
teammates and, as he puts it, to make the world they lived in better 
than it was when they left it.
  Sadly, the Bluffton University baseball team's fatal accident was not 
unique. We have witnessed story after story about motorcoach accidents.
  While the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, one 
thing is clear--stronger safety regulations could have minimized the 
fatalities resulting from this crash.
  The Motorcoach Safety Enhancement Act, which I introduced today along 
with Senator Hutchison, would address the shortfall in safety 
regulations for motorcoaches.
  Many of the injuries sustained in motorcoaches could be prevented by 
incorporating high-quality safety technologies that exist today but are 
not widely used, such as crush-proof roofing and glazed windows to 
prevent ejection.
  More basic safety features, such as readily accessible fire 
extinguishers and seatbelts for all passengers, are still not required 
on motorcoaches.
  As a father of four, I find it particularly disturbing to know 
students are still riding in vehicles without even the option of 
buckling up.
  I applaud Mr. Betts and the other Bluffton parents for their 
courageous fight in the midst of so much personal pain.
  Seatbelts, window glazing, fire extinguishers--these are not new 
technologies. These are commonsense safety features that are widely 
used.
  And they are features that the National Transportation Safety Board 
recommends be enacted into law. Yet they have been languishing for 
years.
  The Motorcoach Safety Enhancement Act would instruct the Secretary of 
Transportation to enact these and other safety features. It would put a 
timeframe on final rulings so these safety requirements do not spend 
any more time in limbo.
  This bill takes the lessons learned from the tragic events of the 
Bluffton University baseball team's motorcoach accident, and aims to 
correct them for future riders.
  It is my hope that in the future, parents will not have to endure the 
anguish and grief that John Betts and the other family members 
experienced.
  I hope for swift consideration of this bill.

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