Deadly bus crash shines light on seat belt regulations

The deadly bus crash in Palm Springs that claimed the lives of 13 people and injuring 31 others is shining new light on seat belt regulations. According to investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board the tour bus involved in the crash was built in 1996 and did not have seat belts on board.

At a press conference Tuesday, NTSB board member Earl Weener, addressed the seat belt concerns. He said the NTSB had put regulations in place but this bus was built at a time when it was not required.

“It was not manufactured at a time when seat belts were required, so I can’t say we got any requirements on these kinds of older buses,” he said. According to the NTSB, regulations for seat belts on charter buses were put in place in 2013 after the deadly Yucaipa bus crash during that year. It requires newly manufactured buses to have seat belts on board starting in November 2016. Older buses are not required to be retrofitted with seat belts. Weener said retrofitting olderb uses could cause issues. “Sometimes retrofitting can be problematic because there are not appropriate anchor points to take the loads during a crash,” he said. The California Highway Patrol said the follows the lead of the NTSB when it comes to enforcing seat belt laws. They say the enforce the law when it comes to seat belts, but can’t do anything when it comes to whether a tour bus has them or not. Officers said if the bus has seat belts though, passengers should put it on. “If there is a seat belt on a bus you’re on or any vehicle your in…put it on,” Capt. Laura Quattlebaum, commander of the CHP Indio area, said. Passengers concerned over the safety record of a tour can also use an app to check on it. It’s the SaferBus app from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration where it lists the safety record of every bus company.