NTSB: Bus safety recommendations need ‘urgency’
The Hill – A member of the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that its recommendations to improve the safety of passenger buses need to be taken more seriously in the wake of a fatal crash in Northern Virginia over the weekend.
NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said on the panel’s Safety Compass blog that the agency, which is investigating the accident, has recommended changes for years. Among them are stronger roofs, emergency exits and higher standards for passenger seating compartments, he said.
The agency has also recommended lane-departure warning systems and collision-monitors.
The problem, Sumwalt said Wednesday, is that the recommendations have not gone anywhere.
“The NTSB has issued many motorcoach safety recommendations based on our accident investigations,” he wrote. “Three of those issues are on our Most Wanted List. Unfortunately, there has been no sense of urgency on these recommendations, some of which are nearly ten years old. The result? We continue to investigate accidents where the same things happen.”
