DOT wants seat belts installed in new motorcoaches

WASHINGTON (AP) — New motorcoaches would for the first time be required to have lap-shoulder seat belts under a proposal announced today by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The plan affects large, tour-style buses, not city buses or school buses, which are state-regulated.

The motorcoach industry, which transports 750 million passengers a year, has 90 days to respond to the proposal. It would take effect three years after it's made final.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated in the proposal that it is also considering requiring current buses be retrofitted with belts, which is more expensive than incorporating belts into new buses.

The proposal solicits comments on how that might best be done and whether lap-shoulder or lap-only belts should be required.

Between 1999 and 2008, there were 54 fatal motorcoach crashes resulting in 186 fatalities, most of them passengers ejected from buses, according to NHTSA.