US DOT Proposes New Rules to Protect Bus Rollover Crashes

The U.S. Department of Transportation is looking to better protect passengers in motorcoach and large passenger bus crashes.

The new proposed federal motor vehicle safety standard will help protect motorcoach and other large bus passengers in rollover crashes by improving the structural design of large buses and ensuring the space around passengers remain sufficiently intact while emergency exits remain operable in the case of an accident.

“The consequences for passengers in rollover crashes are severe,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “I want passengers to know that when this department sees opportunities to make their travel safer so that they can more confidently visit their families or get to work, we are going to do just that and we believe this proposal is a step in that direction.”

By helping establish performance requirements on new motorcoach and large buses, the U.S. government will use a dynamic test in which the bus is tipped over from a raised platform onto a hard level surface in a test similar to what is currently used in Europe to evaluate bus safety.

The proposed standard would, according to NHTSA:

• Require space around occupant seating positions to be maintained to afford occupants a survivable space in a crash;
• Require the seats, overhead luggage racks, and window glazing to remain attached to their mountings during and after the test; and
• Require emergency exits to remain closed during the rollover test and operable after the test.

The Department is planning on finalizing requirements later this year for stability control technologies in those vehicles to help prevent rollovers from occurring.