Personal Injury Law

Safety Belts for Commercial Buses

Posted by Paul Cornoni

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advised Congress recently that it plans to require safety belts on commercial buses.   This is a much needed measure which will help protect innocent passengers on buses.  Our firm has previously blogged about this topic and the dangers of bus and truck accidents.

In 2006, more than 630 million people took trips on motor coaches -- almost as many as traveled by airplane.  "There are fewer NHTSA safety standards for motor coaches than for any other motor vehicles regulated by the agency," said Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA administrator and long-time auto safety advocate.  

Since 1998, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated 33 motor coach accidents involving the ejection of 255 passengers, and it has called on NHTSA to improve protections for commercial buses since 1999.

Unfortunately, the District of Columbia has suffered its share of tragedies as the result of bus accidents.  Only just recently, our firm, successfully obtained a $2,950,000 settlement on behalf of the estate of a woman who was killed by a bus while walking across the street.    

For additional information concerning bus safety, please feel free to email our firm or call 202-463-3030.

Full post as published by DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog on May 22, 2009 (boomark / email).