Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Under specific circumstances motorcoaches utilizing the double-deck design may be susceptible to exceeding the tire weight limit when loaded with passengers and luggage at full capacity. These risks can be avoided by properly loading passengers and cargo, and increasing pressure in tires on the rear wheels.

Directed to the FMCSA, NHTSA, AASHTO and various motorcoach associations.

Agency research shows the technology could prevent up to 56% of rollover crashes each year—the deadliest among all crash types—and another 14% of loss-of-control crashes.

The FHWA; AASHTO; NHTSA and the GHSA, as well as all 50 states and the District of Columbia, received recommendations for median barrier installation, communication and prohibiting driver cell phone use.

The recommendations made to NHTSA also include requiring installation of stability systems on all newly manufactured vehicles within the weight range.

Two pilot projects measured the effect of increased law enforcement coupled with high-profile public education campaigns. In Syracuse, N.Y., because of high-visibility enforcement, both handheld cell phone use and texting behind the wheel declined by one-third. In Hartford, Conn., there was a 57 percent drop in handheld use and texting behind the wheel dropped by nearly three-quarters.

Acting ahead of NHTSA’s proposal requiring seat belts for each passenger in new coaches, the carrier is making shoulder and lap belts part of all its new bus purchases.

Vehicle manufacturers must develop a countermeasure for light passenger vehicles under 10,000 lbs. that prevents the equivalent of an unbelted adult from moving more than 4 inches past the side window opening in the event of a crash. The new standard will begin phasing in during 2013.

The proposal, issued by the NHTSA, would expand the required field of view for all passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans, buses and low-speed vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds, so that drivers can see directly behind the vehicle when the vehicle's transmission is in reverse.

Two new reports estimate that seat belts saved more than 72,000 lives during the five years between 2005 and 2009, while child restraint systems and minimum drinking age laws saved hundreds more during 2009.