Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Penn.) introduced a motorcoach safety bill that calls for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct comprehensive scientific research to determine the direction of future regulatory requirements.  

“Much of the data to guide engineers on occupant protection issues and many other safety issues simply doesn’t yet exist,” said Peter J. Pantuso, president and CEO of the American Bus Association (ABA). “This bill will ensure that the research needed to guide policy-makers is conducted, and that sound science rather than politics shapes government safety policies.”  

The bill is different from one introduced by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), which if passed, mandates that motorcoach operators retrofit their fleet with safety belts, use window glazing to prevent ejections and implement new fire suppression systems within the first year of its enactment.  

Both the ABA and the United Motorcoach Association provided Shuster with information and resources to help ensure that the bill addressed a broad range of safety questions.