The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is making the following recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
- Require all new motor vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds to be equipped with direct tire pressure monitoring systems to inform drivers of the actual tire pressures on their vehicles. (H-09-22)
- Develop performance standards for newly manufactured motorcoaches to require that overhead luggage racks remain anchored during an accident sequence. (H-09-23)
- Develop performance standards for newly manufactured motorcoaches that prevent head and neck injuries from overhead luggage racks. (H-09-24)
- In two years, develop performance standards for motorcoach occupant protection systems that account for frontal impact collisions, side impact collisions, rear impact collisions and rollovers. (H-99-47)
- Once pertinent standards have been developed for motorcoach occupant protection systems, require newly manufactured motorcoaches to have an occupant crash protection system that meets the newly developed performance standards and retains passengers, including those in child safety restraint systems, within the seating compartment throughout the accident sequence for all accident scenarios. (H-99-48)
- In two years, develop performance standards for motorcoach roof strength that provide maximum survival space for all seating positions and take into account current typical motorcoach window dimensions. (H-99-50)
- Once performance standards have been developed for motorcoach roof strength, require newly manufactured motorcoaches to meet those standards. (H-99-51)
The NTSB is also making the following recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA):
- Establish a regulatory requirement within 49 Code of Federal Regulations 382.405 that provides the NTSB, in the exercise of its statutory authority, access to all positive drug and alcohol test results and refusal determinations that are conducted under the U.S. Department of Transportation testing requirements. (H-09-18)
- Require that tire pressure be checked with a tire pressure gauge during pretrip inspections, vehicle inspections and roadside inspections of motor vehicles. (H-09-19)
- Require those states that allow private garages to conduct FMCSA inspections of commercial motor vehicles to have a quality assurance and oversight program that evaluates the effectiveness and thoroughness of those inspections. (H-09-20)
- Develop an evaluation component to determine the effectiveness of your new applicant screening program. (H-09-21)
- Develop a system that records all positive drug and alcohol test results and refusal determinations that are conducted under the U.S. Department of Transportation testing requirements, require prospective employers to query the system before making a hiring decision and require certifying authorities to query the system before making a certification decision. (H-01-25)