According to the NHTSA, it is now required that all passengers wear seat belts on new models of motorcoaches. Previously, these seatbelts were not mandatory. Now, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration has issued a final rule requiring lap and shoulder seat belts for each passenger and driver seat on new motorcoaches and larger buses.
The NHTSA believes that this new rule will enhance the safety of these vehicles and will reduce the risk of fatalities and serious injuries in frontal crashes. There is also a possibility of occupant ejection in rollovers, and this new law will help to prevent these tragic and often deadly accidents from taking place.
The Transportation Secretary says that safety is America’s highest priority when it comes to vehicular travel. The new law will allegedly reflect the NHTSA’s commitment to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the roadways. On average, about 21 motorcoach occupants or large bus passengers are killed annually, Also, an average of 7,934 individuals are injured annually in motor vehicle crashes, according to NHTSA data.
Requiring seat belts could reduce fatalities by 44% according to research done on the subject. The NHTSA also suspects that adding seatbelts to these large vehicles will reduce the potential for moderate to severe injuries by up to 45%. Overall, motorcoach transportation is considered a safe mode of travel. Yet when accidents do occur, there is a greater potential for deaths and injuries due to the number of occupants and the high speeds at which the vehicles are traveling.
Whenever there are many passengers in a large vehicle, an accident has the propensity to do a shocking amount of damage. Also, larger vehicles are susceptible to rollover accidents, which can cause serious injuries. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator says that requiring seat belts in new models is a strong step to reach a higher level of safety for bus passengers. Essentially, safety experts believe that buckling up is the most effective way to prevent deaths and injuries in all vehicular crashes.
This final rule amends the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standard and will apply to all new over-the-road buses and other types of new buses that have a gross vehicle weight rating that is over 11.793 kilo grams or 26,000 pounds. School buses and transit buses are exempt from these laws, and will not need to add seatbelts to their vehicles. This is partially because transit and school buses are normally on surface streets where they are not traveling at as high of speeds.
The final rule fulfills a mandate from the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21s Century Act. The newly manufactured buses won’t be issued for three years, and they will debut in November 2016. Several companies have already begun to purchase buses that include seat belts voluntarily as an investment for the future. The Department will continue to encourage companies in the industry to speed the adoption of lap and shoulder belts prior to the mandatory deadline. The Department will also continue moving forward with other initiatives to improve motorcoach safety as outlined in the Motorcoach Safety Action Plan.
If you have been injured in a motorcoach accident or if your loved one passed away in a tragic incident of this nature, you need to seek financial compensation from the party responsible. With the right lawyer on your side, you will be able to sue the motorcoach company or the driver that is responsible for the accident. Don’t hesitate to use this directory to find a lawyer near you today who can work through your bus accident case!