Motor coach safety has been an issue for years. It shouldn't have taken the horrific fatal crash in New York City last March to prompt Congress and federal safety agencies to take strong action to improve bus safety and prevent bus accidents.

One problem, however, has been the lack of an accurate federal database tracking fatal bus crashes. It's more difficult to keep the political pressure on for safety reforms when legislators don't have a clear picture of the scope of the problem.

In October 2003, for example, a fatigued motor coach driver swerved off the interstate in Louisiana and crashed, killing eight people. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated and identified problems that went far beyond the fatigued driver.

It is no secret what those problems are. They include lack of proper federal oversight of carriers who commit safety violations, as well as problems with the design of the buses themselves.

The absence of seat belts is a particular problem. Though they have been in use on buses in Europe for years, and are also in place in Australia, the bus industry has been resistant to installing them on American buses - even though they would save lives.

The death toll caused by these regulatory and design problems needs to be better understood. Many fatal crashes involving multiple deaths do not show up in federal databases. That was the case, for instance, with the 2003 crash in Louisiana.

Failing to maintain proper records has kept public officials and the public from recognizing the full scope of the bus safety problem. That needs to change.

Source: "Federal bus fatality count 'just doesn't add up'," USA Today, 6-29-2011