SAFETY IS TOP PRIORITY OF ABA BUS OPERATORS

• Motorcoach passenger safety is ABA's top priority, and government data show that bus travel is the safest form of surface transportation.
• 631 million passengers ride motorcoaches annually, and the industry's safety record of 0.02 fatalities per 100 million passenger miles traveled documents the safety of bus travel.
• ABA supports HR 4690, "The Bluffton University Safety Act," introduced by Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), which charges The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with undertaking the most comprehensive scientific study ever of motorcoach safety to determine the most appropriate means of occupant protection.
• Sound science must guide policy. The government must conduct rigorous research with adequate funding. Saving lives cannot be based on a price tag.
• The motorcoach industry is working constructively with NHTSA to ensure that any safety proposal includes proper scientific review required to produce the most credible and authoritative research to date.
• The government must collect and analyze field data, conduct dynamic testing and authenticate its findings through peer-reviewed scientific panels. Only then will the government have the scientific foundation upon which sound policy is based.
• Motorcoach safety systems are holistic. Safety equipment cannot simply be bolted onto a motorcoach. It has to be engineered into the vehicle's architecture.