BC Tour Bus Company Gets Out in Front on Seatbelts
A British Columbia news outlet reports that a BC tour bus company is equipping its older buses with seat belts in light of the horrific bus crash in the Oregon Columbia River Gorge. Apparently, the Canadian authorities are not convinced that mandating seat belts on buses is necessary, but the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (USTSB) thinks otherwise.
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an action plan in 2009. In it, the USDOT found that the passenger ejection from rollover crashes is the highest cause of bus crash fatalities, and set a goal to enact rules requiring seat belts on tour buses by 2011
Why no action until now? It's likely due to the cost of compliance. The British Columbia tour bus company's new buses come equipped with seat belts, but the retrofitting of seat belts is estimated at $70,000.00 per seat belt. Some folks do not think this is worth the expense, but there is not doubt changes are coming.
