Father testifies for bus safety bill
Findlay Courier – Four years after their son, David, was one of five Bluffton University baseball players killed in a bus crash, John and Joy Betts are still fighting for a law to prevent other bus tragedies.
John Betts testified Wednesday before a U.S. Senate committee about a bus safety bill that would require seat belts and stronger windows and roofs.
Though the bill’s sponsors say it would prevent the cause of 70 percent of bus crash deaths, passage has been difficult. Bus tour companies oppose the bill, Betts and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in a news conference.
Brown and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, are sponsoring the bus safety legislation, which might pass this year in the Senate.
American Bus Association Chief Executive Officer Peter Pantuso said the association supports parts of the bill. Seat belts make sense in new buses, he said.
