The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit met today to examine safety issues regarding long-distance, charter, and curbside bus services.
Below are opening statements from Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Chairman of the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.), Chairman of the Subcommittee.
Statement of
The Honorable James L. Oberstar
Motorcoach Safety
March 20, 2007
Ensuring the safety of passengers on our nation’s transportation systems is among the most important and most imperative responsibilities of this Committee. I wish to thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Duncan for scheduling today’s hearing to probe what more can be done to protect the lives of motorcoach travelers.
Travel by an over-the-road bus is among the safest, and most popular, forms of transportation. In 2005, motorcoaches provided a record 631 million passenger trips. The vast majority of these trips end uneventfully.
Yet whenever an accident occurs that needlessly takes the lives of passengers, such as the tragic crash in Atlanta, Georgia two weeks ago, it reminds us that more must be done to enhance safety on our roads.
In 2005, 33 passengers were killed while traveling in a motorcoach. Even one individual losing his or her life is too many.
The public places its trust in the Federal Government to monitor bus companies. Regulators are charged with providing proper safety oversight to give travelers a pool of safe carriers that employ well-qualified drives and utilize a fleet of well-maintained vehicles.
As we will hear in testimony today, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has come up short in its mission to: (1) gather accurate data on bus companies; (2) routinely check that companies comply with federal safety regulations; and (3) put those companies who do not comply out-of-business unless and until they change their ways.
Unfortunately, this means bus passengers have very little information to help them choose a carrier and have no easy way to tell the difference between a safe and unsafe operator.
One accident that will be discussed at today’s hearing occurred in 2004, in Wilmer, Texas, in which 23 senior citizens lost their lives in a bus fire as they were fleeing the path of Hurricane Rita. When FMCSA investigated the company, Global Limo, after the accident, the agency found egregious, critical violations of driver and vehicle safety regulations including: failure to conduct drug and alcohol testing; failure to verify driver qualifications; violations of hours-of-service; and failure to routinely maintain and inspect their vehicle fleet. The violations were so atrocious, that the agency deemed the carrier an "imminent hazard" and shut the company down.
What is tragic about this accident is that FMCSA conducted a compliance review in 2004 of this company, and found many of the same violations, but gave Global Limo a satisfactory rating.
This breakdown in the system of Federal oversight must be addressed. We cannot afford to wait until the next deadly accident before taking action. The traveling public deserves better.
I look forward to the testimony of the witnesses today and to working with Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Duncan, and Full Committee Ranking Member Mica on solutions that will enhance motorcoach safety.
Statement of the Honorable Peter DeFazio, Chairman
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Hearing on Motorcoach Safety
I want to thank Ranking Member Duncan, Members of the Subcommittee, and the witnesses for being here today for this hearing on motorcoach safety. In particular, I’d like to thank John Hill, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), for coming back to testify after appearing before the subcommittee only a week ago on another issue.
Every day, children and adults board motorcoaches expecting a safe and uneventful trip. In 2005, motorcoaches provided a record 631 million passenger trips. Generally, passengers arrive at their destination safely with hardly a thought to the safety of the vehicle in which they are riding or what might happen if that vehicle were in an accident.
Despite their relatively safe record, in 2005, 33 passengers were killed in motorcoach accidents. The death of even one individual is too many.
The tragic bus crash in Altanta, Georgia, earlier this month highlighted the need for continued vigilance to ensure the safety of motorcoach passengers. Seven people died and 29 were injured in this accident.
I believe that some of the deaths resulting from the Altanta crash might have been prevented if the motorcoach was equipped with seatbelts, or other protective measures which could have prevented passengers from being ejected from the vehicle. I hope today’s witnesses will give me their opinion on whether or not seatbelts should be required on motorcoaches.
The horrible accident on September 23, 2005, near Wilmer, Texas, highlighted yet other problems with motorcoach safety that need to be addressed. Forty-four residents of an assisted living facility in Houston, Texas, were loaded onto a bus to take them out of the path of Hurricane Rita, but 23 never made it to safety due to fatal injuries they suffered when a fire started in the right-rear wheel tire hub and quickly spread to the rest of the vehicle.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation of the Wilmer accident highlighted numerous safety violations by the motorcoach company including: violations of driver and vehicle safety regulations, failure to conduct drug and alcohol testing, failure to verify driver qualifications, violations of hours-of-service, and failure to routinely maintain and inspect their fleet.
In addition, NTSB found an alarming breakdown in FMCSA’s oversight of this company. Despite identifying problems during its compliance review of the motorcoach company in
2004, FMCSA gave the carrier a satisfactory rating. After the accident, FMCSA found so many violations the carrier was deemed an "imminent hazard" and the company was shut down. We must improve FMCSA oversight and enforcement efforts to ensure unsafe motorcoaches are taken off the road and terrible accidents like this are prevented.
Thanks again for your attendance today. I look forward to hearing from all the witnesses.
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