WASHINGTON Democrats and Republicans clashed over enforcement of motorcoach safety at a congressional hearing here last month that was punctuated by outspoken comments by some who testified.

Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee called for better inspections and tougher standards for coach operators at the hearing that was convened less than three weeks after a bus crash in Atlanta killed five college baseball players, plus the driver and his wife.

The hearing highlighted partisan differences over government regulation versus free-market forces, with Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., asking why the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hasn't implemented long-standing recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board for restraints, such as seat belts, or stronger windows that could prevent passengers from being ejected during crashes.

Several victims in the Georgia crash were ejected or partially ejected from the bus.

DeFazio and others also decried what they called a breakdown in the federal system of motorcoach safety oversight.

"Clearly the regulatory structure is not sufficient to the challenge," said DeFazio. "I don't think the American public would have a high level of confidence in this."

But Rep. John Duncan of Tennessee, the subcommittee's senior Republican, cautioned against over-regulation and praised the bus industry as "probably the safest form of transportation."

"I'm concerned about imposing unnecessary burdens which may not have an impact," he said, pointing to government figures showing an average of about 23 bus deaths per year over the past decade. "There has to be a balance."

The Atlanta crash involved a charter coach, carrying the Bluffton University of Ohio baseball team, which plunged off an overpass and smashed onto Interstate 75, ejecting some passengers. Twenty-nine people were injured.

What about seatbelts?

The NTSB, which is investigating the accident, has for years recommended improved restraint systems and windows to prevent ejections.

However, under questioning by DeFazio, NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said research is not conclusive on whether seatbelts might have saved lives or prevented serious injuries in major crashes like the Atlanta accident.

"The jury is still out," he said. While seatbelts are known to save lives in cars, the "larger compartment" of a bus has different dynamics and may need different features, he said.

For certain, said Rosenker, it would be hazardous to retro fit buses with seatbelts. He said airbags, including on the sides of the buses, may prove to be a better safety solution.

"In addition, the vehicle itself must be strong enough to prevent intrusion into the occupant compartment," he said. "Finally, the seats, side panels and other surfaces need to absorb energy when impacted by occupants in the crash scenario. When all these concepts work together, it greatly increases the occupants' chance of survival."

Those testifying at the hearing included John Hill, head of the FMCSA; Brian Scott, president of Escot Bus Lines in Largo, Fla., and chairman of the United Motorcoach Association; Chris Crean, director of safety and security at Peter Pan Bus Lines and vice chairman of the Bus Industry Safety Council; Bruce Hamilton, president/business agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union National Local 1700, which represents Greyhound drivers and mechanics, and Jacqueline Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

Variety of views

Hill told the subcommittee that the Executive Coach Luxury Travel Inc. bus involved in the Atlanta crash had been inspected one week before the accident by the Public Utility Commission of Ohio.

No vehicle violations were found and the preliminary investigation showed the driver did not violate regulations for total hours of service, he noted. The driver who was killed relieved the previous driver and boarded the bus at about 4:30 a.m., one hour before the crash.

The HOV-lane exit where the crash occurred was criticized by Gillan of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "There are major issues involving highway design in this crash, including a left-hand-exit lane with inadequate signing," she testified.

She also decried federal inaction on making buses more crash worthy.

Scott focused on industry safety, saying the industry can proudly stand on its record, not because of low fatalities and injuries but rather because operators diligently pursue best safety practices.

"Our very survival hinges on those pursuits," said Scott.

He also said the industry was ready to work with Congress and federal agencies to develop and implement safer practices and equipment, provided the changes are "grounded in sound science and testing."

Crean creams em

Crean, on the other hand, took a different tack, strongly criticizing several aspects of FMCSA safety oversight.

He said the FMCSA SafeStat system is "usually deficient" in reporting the safety performance of new or small carriers, and many carriers identified as "unsafe" are allowed to conduct business as usual.

He noted that many curbside bus companies running in the Northeast and along the border with Mexico "are operating in defiance of federal and state law(s)," including the Americans with Disability Act, federal DOT safety regulations, and federal environmental quality regulations.

"These curbside operators are not safe and when they operate their service in an unsafe manner they give the bus industry a bad name, force good operators into curtailing service and make a mockery of our efforts to provide safe and efficient transportation to the nation," Crean told the committee.

He said Congress "should insist" the FMCSA use all of its regulatory powers "to stop unsafe carriers from gaining operating authority and prevent them from ignoring the law once they have operating authority."

While acknowledging the FMCSA faces an uphill battle in trying to get bad operators off the rode, Crean said it was time for Congress to provide the FMCSA with adequate funding to "start doing something about what we know."

But, at the same time, he bemoaned the FMCSA practice of handing out conditional ratings to operators that violate hours-of-service rules, fail to maintain their equipment properly, allow individuals with suspended or revoked licenses to operate coaches, or violate other federal regulations.

At one point during the hearing, Hill of the FMCSA, admitted that "one of the problems we have as an agency is dealing with the volume of vehicles involved."