SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- An effective program to manage driver fatigue and better enforcement of existing regulations -- not changes to the current hours-of-service rules -- are key to reducing or eliminating bus accidents, federal safety officials were told during a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration listening session here in late October.

The session, conducted during the annual California Bus Association Convention and Trade Show, was one of a series of such forums the FMCSA is conducting as it considers revisions to motorcoach hours-of-service rules.

The agency is examining the rules in the wake of eight bus crashes that caused 28 deaths last year, said William Paden, the FMCSA western field administrator.

"When so many deaths occur, it is time to evaluate our safety priorities," Paden said. "We are committed to an environment in which motorcoach drivers are rested, alert and focused on safety while on the job. This is part of a process."

Many of the more than a dozen speakers who addressed the panel said the current hours-of-service rules are appropriate, necessary and workable.

They suggested that a fatigue management program could better prevent major accidents because it would address the differences among drivers and driving situations.

"Changing hours of service suggests the possibility that one size fits all," said Victor Parra, president and CEO of the United Motorcoach Association. "(T)hats not the case. All drivers are different. They have different capacities, different needs, and we need to recognize that."

He said National Transportation Safety Board investigations of recent crashes pointed to the need for better strategies for managing driver fatigue.

"What theyre saying is that changing the hours of service could not have changed the outcomes. The issue is fatigue," he said.

An effective fatigue-management program should contain guidance for managing the transition from daytime to nighttime driving shifts, and for dealing with driving during the late-night and early-morning hours, according to several operators who spoke at the session.

Darlene Cochran of Pacific Coast Sightseeing Tours in Anaheim, said her company has looked into requiring two drivers on services that occur during the "very vulnerable hours" of midnight and 4 a.m. But such an approach could only work if mandated for all operators, she said.

"But it isnt a mandatory thing," she said. "So if I price the trip out, and add in the extra . . . costs for that second driver for that midnight-to-4-a.m., and nobody else in town does it, I can assure you, you dont have to worry about me having that accident because my bus isnt going to be doing the trip.

"Its going to be the one who can run without complying."

Speaker after speaker said they supported better enforcement of existing rules and called for a crackdown on unsafe operators.

"Youre in a room with some of the top operators in California," said Bob Dockerty of American Star Trailways. "We have brought our services up to a high level. ... Were very cautious. We put it on the line every day.

"But weve got a lot of renegades running in California. The (California Highway Patrol) cant get to them. The DOT cant get to them.

"So, (inspectors) come to our location where they can find us in a physical place and inspect us. But nobody wants to chase the ones down who are causing the problems."

Paden of the FMCSA said that federal officials are aware that operators are frustrated about enforcement and are working with state partners to resolve the issues.

"We have listened to you, and weve encouraged them to change and try to address that," he said.

"We work for you. . . . We recognize that youre the customer, and theres a balance there between regulation and allowing commerce to proceed economically so you can make a living, and that we can do both at the same time," he said.

The first listening session was in Grapevine, Texas, in January.

A subcommittee of the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee will deliberate the hours rules during a public session the week of Dec. 2 in Alexandria, Va.

Currently, hours-of-service rules for motorcoach drivers allow up to 10 hours of driving, following 8 consecutive hours off duty. Driving is prohibited after the operator has accumulated 15 hours of on-duty time, following 8 consecutive hours off duty (15-hour rule).

Under the requirements, a driver is subject to a 60-hour limit based on a seven-day period, or a 70-hour limit on an eight-day period. The rules have not changed substantially since the mid 1930s.