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NTSB
ABSTRACT OF FINAL REPORT
BUS CRASHWORTHINESS HEARING
SEPTEMBER 21, 1999
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NTSB
CONCLUSION |
AB
15 RESPONSE |
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1.
In accidents analyzed…school bus passengers who remained
within the seating compartment but not within the intrusion
area…were less likely to be injured than passengers who were
out of the compartment before the collision or who were propelled
from the compartment during the collision. |
AB
15 ensures that passengers will remain in their seating
compartments throughout the collision. In addition, AB 15 ensures
that passengers will be properly seated in their seating
compartments any time the bus is in motion – when the vast
majority of collisions are initiated. |
| 2.
Because of compartmentalization, school bus passengers are safer
now than they were before 1977. |
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| 3.
Current compartmentalization is incomplete in that it does not
protect school bus passengers during lateral impacts with
vehicles of large mass and in rollovers, because in such
accidents, passengers do not always remain completely within the
seating compartment. |
AB
15 ensures that passengers will remain in their seating
compartments throughout the collision. |
| 4.
All potential designs for occupant protection systems to be used
on school buses should be tested to uniform performance standards
developed by NHTSA to ensure occupant safety. |
Any
device used under AB 15 must be in compliance with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards, which are developed by NHTSA. |
| 5.
It cannot be determined whether the current design of available
restraint systems for large school buses would have reduced the
risk of injury to the school bus passengers in the accidents
simulated…. |
We
have data from Busbelts Development Corporation, using computer
simulation programs developed and used by NHTSA indicating that
restrained passenger experience fewer and less severe injuries. In
addition, the NTSB's own conclusions (1, and 3 above) indicate
that passengers are safer if they remain within their compartment
during a collision. |
| 6.
The potential exists for an occupant crash protection system to be
developed that would protect school bus passengers in most
accident scenarios. |
We
have data from Busbelts Development Corporation, using computer
simulation programs developed and used by NHTSA indicating that
restrained passenger experience fewer and less severe injuries. |
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NTSB
CONCLUSION |
AB
15 RESPONSE |
| 7.
One of the primary causes of preventable injury in motorcoach
accidents involving rollover, ejection or both is occupant motion
out of the seat during a collision when no intrusion occurs
into the seating area. |
AB
15 ensures that passengers will remain in their seating
compartments throughout the collision. |
| 8.
The overall injury risk to occupants in motorcoach accidents
involving rollover and ejection may be reduced significantly by
retaining the occupant in the seating compartment throughout
the collision. |
AB
15 ensures that passengers will remain in their seating
compartments throughout the collision. |
| 9.
New occupant crash protection systems for motorcoaches should be
tested to uniform performance standards developed by the NHTSA
that are based upon actual crash testing of motorcoaches to ensure
occupant protection. |
Any
device used under AB 15 must be in compliance with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards, which are developed by NHTSA. |
| 16.
School bus accident injury data are incomplete, and, therefore,
injuries cannot be reliably estimated. |
AB
15 waits until January 1, 2002, to require seat belts on school
buses. That gives time for the NHTSA to complete their study on
the issue. In addition, we have looked to CHP data regarding
actual injuries suffered by California school children during
school bus collisions. That data should guide efforts in
California. |
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NTSB
RECOMMENDATION |
AB
15 REQUIREMENT |
| 3.
In 2 years, develop performance standards for school bus occupant
protection systems that account for frontal impact collisions,
side impact collisions, rear impact collisions, and rollovers. |
AB
15 does not require seat belts to be installed on new school buses
until January 1, 2002. That actually provides a little more than 2
years for development of standards and devices – a little more
than is recommended by the NTSB. |
| 4.
Once pertinent standards have been developed …, require newly
manufactured large school buses to have an occupant crash
protection system that meets the newly developed performance
standards and retains passengers, including those in child
restraint systems, within the seating compartment throughout
the accident sequence. |
AB
15 does just that, requiring that newly manufactured school buses
have three-point belts beginning 1/1/2002. The time we have
allotted in AB 15 for research and development is more generous
than the time allotted in the NTSB recommendations.t |
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NTSB
RECOMMENDATION |
AB
15 REQUIREMENT |
| 5.
In 2 years, develop performance standards for motorcoach occupant
protection systems that account for frontal impact collisions,
side impact collisions, rear impact collisions, and rollovers. |
AB
15 does not require seat belts to be installed on new school buses
until January 1, 2002. That actually provides a little more than 2
years for development of standards and devices – a little more
than is recommended by the NTSB. |
| 6.
Once pertinent standards have been developed …, require newly
manufactured motorcoaches to have an occupant crash protection
system that meets the newly developed performance standards and
retains passengers, including those in child restraint systems,
within the seating compartment throughout the accident
sequence. |
AB
15 does just that, requiring that newly manufactured school buses
have three-point belts beginning 1/1/2002. The time we have
allotted in AB 15 for research and development is more generous
than the time allotted in the NTSB recommendations. |
| 11.
Require that all school buses and motorcoaches manufactured after
1/1/2003, be equipped with on-board recording systems that record
vehicle parameters, including, at a minimum, crash pulses for
determining bus body motion. |
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