WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board released its 2013 Most Wanted List last month, with six of the 10 issues focusing on highway travel where most transportation fatalities occur.

The latest list of the independent federal safety agencys top advocacy priorities calls for ending distraction in all modes of transportation.

Distraction was the cause of multiple accidents investigated by the agency in recent years.

Of the items on the NTSB list, "improving the safety of bus operations" was No. 6, after "improve safety of airport surface operations, preserve the integrity of transportation infrastructure, enhance pipeline safety, implement positive train control systems, and eliminate substance-impaired driving."

In commenting on bus safety, the NTSB endorsed an important concept being advocated by the United Motorcoach Association. That is, that when it comes to motorcoach drivers falling asleep at the wheel, the overarching issue is driver fatigue and assuring drivers are rested, not hours-of-service rules.

The NTSB also endorsed video event recorders as an important safety tool.

Heres what the agency had to say about improving bus safety:

"Travel by buses is among the safest modes of transportation. However, because these vehicles carry a larger number of passengers, when something does go wrong, more people are at risk of injury or death.

"Bus safety is a multifaceted issue involving not just the vehicle, but also the drivers, bus and motorcoach operators, and oversight agencies.

"In recent years, the national focus has been on adequately protecting bus occupants in a crash, which is critical to improving survival rates and avoiding injury during a crash.

"Much can be done, however, to decrease the likelihood of a crash in the first place. Through its investigations, the NTSB has found that the problem is often with the individual driver or company operations. The actions of impaired, distracted, or fatigued drivers have had catastrophic consequences.

"Additionally, bus operators continue to demonstrate unsafe operating practices, particularly those operators who have been placed out-of-service by oversight agencies and are then reincarnated under another name or with a new U.S. Department of Transportation number.

"What can be done . . .

"Bus operators require government authority, their drivers require professional driver's licenses, and their customers pay for service. As a result, bus passengers deserve and expect the highest level of safety.

"An important step in improving safety is to ensure that the professional motorcoach driver is qualified. For example, bus operators should review a longer, more comprehensive driving history during the recruitment/hiring process and use video event recorder information to assess on-the-job performance.

"In addition, drivers should undergo regular medical examinations by an authorized medical professional to ensure they are fit to operate such complex machinery. Drivers and operators should also work together to limit hours of service to ensure that drivers have adequate opportunity for rest - and to institute measures, such as fatigue risk management programs and vehicle technologies, that can assist operators and drivers in recognizing and mitigating fatigue.

"But there can be no guarantee that drivers are qualified unless their companies are held to a proper standard.

"New companies should be required to demonstrate their safety fitness before the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration grants authority to operate.

"When reviewing a company's ongoing operations, the FMCSA should place greater emphasis on vehicle and driver performance, which are disproportionately factors in accidents.

"And if the FMCSA determines that a company is not fit to continue operations, there should be methods for verifying that the company has ceased operating.

"Consumers can further reinforce these standards by doing business and contracting only with those bus operators that employ best practices and have the best safety records."

The other four items on the NTSB list were:

Eliminate distraction in transportation

Improve fire safety in transportation

Improve general aviation safety

Mandate motor vehicle collision avoidance technologies