A bill backed by a Bluffton family that would add seatbelts to all motorcoaches in the U.S. gets support from one of the country's biggest bus companies.
It was four years ago a motorcoach carrying the Bluffton University baseball team crashed on an Atlanta highway. That spurred the creation of the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act, but until now it hasn't had enough support to pass through the house and senate. With Greyhound pledging support U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown thinks that will change.
"Within an hour of me identifying my son at the morgue I was informed the motorcoach he was on only had seatbelts in the first couple of seats," John Betts, whose son David died in the accident, said.
John and Joy Betts' son David was one of the seven people killed when a motorcoach carrying the Bluffton University baseball team crashed. The Betts' later learned David's death could have been prevented if the bus had seatbelts.
"How he and the other four of his teammates died was by being ejected from their seat and hitting something very hard," Betts said.
After the crash the Betts teamed up with Ohio's senior senator Sherrod Brown to get legislation passed requiring seat belts on busses, but opposition from bus companies prevented the passage of the bill, something that is slowly changing. Greyhound announced Thursday it's teaming up with Sen. Brown to get the legislation passed.
"Greyhound's support means it's not all bus companies opposing it because they don't want any kind of safety rules. I think more bus companies will realize that they ought to do the right thing and stop fighting these safety rules and these citizen groups that are pushing for safety," Sen. Brown said.
The Betts say they hope more bus companies realize what Greyhound has already learned. The benefits of the legislation outweigh the costs.
"They usually end with cost as an issue and we know now that's not an issue that basically on a per rider basis you're looking at somewhere around 10 cents per rider, so it's not a cost issue," Betts said.
A senate committee has already unanimously approved the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act. Senator Brown expects it to reach the house and senate floors within the next few months and expects it to be on the president's desk by the end of the year.
