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New rules could be coming for America’s coaches and large buses, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed standards that have been influenced by those of the European Union.

The new standards would demand that large buses undergo tests that would see the vehicles tipped off of a platform and onto a hard surface, with a particular focus on the way an impact affected its structure. According to NHTSA, the new standards would also force manufacturers to batten down the emergency doors so they’d stay shut during a rollover, and reinforce the attachments for the seats and overhead storage racks, again, so they’d stay in place.

To be fair, these all sound like fairly reasonable changes in the name of safety. They are, however, not going to be terribly cheap. NHTSA is expecting costs to manufacturers to rise between $5 and $13 million each year, with each new bus requiring an extra $282 to $507 for the changes. Other tradeoffs, including some weight gains and fuel efficiency penalties, also seem worth the benefit of two lives saved per year and four serious injuries prevented.

The blow should be softened for current coach operators, though, as only newly built buses will need to conform to the rollover standard at present. That could change, although according to The Detroit News, NHTSA said it "believes that major structural changes to the vehicle’s entire sidewall and roof structure would be needed for some existing buses to meet the rollover structural integrity requirements." It scarcely needs mentioning, but NHTSA thinks that’s an overly expensive proposition.

Still, NHTSA is looking at the "feasibility, benefits, and costs of any potential requirement to retrofit existing buses with stronger emergency exit mechanisms and enhanced structural integrity to increase side window glazing retention to afford a similar level of anti-ejection protection for passengers riding in existing buses." Future regulations may include the requirement of stability control.

Municipalities, meanwhile, need not fret, as school buses and public transit buses won’t be required to make the changes. Nor are airport shuttle or prison buses included, as these regulations are meant for the kinds of buses that schlep people from city to city on regular routes and tourists to popular destinations.

Continue reading NHTSA proposes new bus rollover standards

NHTSA proposes new bus rollover standards originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Aug 2014 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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