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February 25, 2006
COMPANY HELD LIABLE FOR LACK OF BELTS IN BUS CRASH
A Waco, Texas jury has found against a bus manufacturer for failing to provide seat belts in a vehicle involved in a crash on Valentine’s Day 2003. Seven people died in the crash, including five elderly passengers, four of whom were ejected, according to a Dallas News article. The company argued that it should not be liable because NHTSA does not require seat belts in buses.
The Waco jury ordered the bus's manufacturer, Motor Coach Industries Inc., to pay $17.5 million in damages to 19 injured passengers and family members of the deceased. “Whether or not the verdict stands, it has stunned the American bus industry, which has relied on federal regulations to defeat previous lawsuits that focused on the absence of seat belts,” the report said, adding:
A spokesman for NHTSA, Rae Tyson, said the agency is aware of the Waco jury verdict but has no plans to alter its position on safety belts in commercial buses. "Given the overall safety record of motor coaches and school buses, I think the approach has generally worked," Mr. Tyson said. But, he added, there is nothing to prevent bus makers from acting voluntarily.The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates fatal bus accidents, has pushed NHTSA to research or require installation of safety belts for almost 40 years. "It’s been proven in the transportation industry repeatedly that the simplest, least expensive and most effective safety device is a seat belt," said Jim Hall, chairman of the safety board from 1993 to 2001.
Hall blamed the lack of responsiveness on the bus industry's political influence and on an overall lack of attention paid to bus accidents, according to the article.
Posted by MVHAP at February 25, 2006 04:34 PM