WASHINGTON Four years ago, the motorcoach industry told the Federal Motor Carrier Administration that it would be a bad idea to issue rigorous regulations requiring safety briefings for passengers on private motorcoaches.

Instead, the industry asked the feds to issue guidelines for such safety briefings and leave it up to individual operators to decide what form and format to use to present the information to passengers.

Well, the industry has gotten exactly what it asked for and now it's up to the 3,500 motorcoach operators in the U.S. to develop their own passenger safety briefings that fit within the guidelines.

It shouldn't be difficult given the guidelines are broadly drawn and make allowance for the diverse nature of bus operations provided across the U.S.

The FMCSA made its guidelines, which it calls "a basic plan for motorcoach companies to implement a safety-awareness program for passengers," official last month by publishing them in the Federal Register.

The idea of requiring coach operators to conduct passenger safety briefings has been a slow burning issue for nearly a decade.

Following a 1997 bus crash in Stony Creek Va., the National Safety Transportation Board asked the FMCSA to begin requiring pre-trip safety information for motorcoach passengers.

The NTSB said that in the Stony Creek accident and other crashes it had investigated, passengers described a sense of panic because they did not know what to do or how to get out of a smashed or overturned bus.

Four years after the NTSB made its recommendation, the FMCSA held informal meetings to discuss the issue with coach manufacturers, insurance companies, safety consultants, trade associations, state agencies, other federal regulatory agencies, industry representatives, and officials from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

Out of those meetings grew a working group that, within five months, came up with suggestions for meeting the NTSB recommendation.

The working committee said it would be best to initially encourage the coach industry to take voluntary action to improve pre-trip safety awareness.

And coach industry representatives on the working group maintained it was impossible to develop a uniform passenger safety awareness regulation that was flexible enough for industry-wide application due to the broad operational variations within the industry.

The group said that development and promotion of a list of best practices was a more effective and realistic alternative to assure motorcoach passengers receive safety information.

Fundamentally, the FMCSA adopted the working group's ideas.

It has come up with a basic plan that coach operators can follow to implement a safety-awareness program for their passengers and its specifically designed to meet the needs of diverse motorcoach operational types.

Guideline elements

Here are the recommended safety topics to be covered in a motorcoach passenger safety awareness briefing or program:

1. Emergency exits: Point out the location of all emergency exits

(push-out windows, roof vent and door) and explain how to operate them.

Emphasize that, whenever feasible, the motorcoach door should be the primary exit. Encourage able-bodied passengers to assist any injured or mobility-impaired passengers during an emergency evacuation. (Provide passengers with sufficient guidance to ensure compliance with

49 CFR 392.62, "Safe operation, buses.")

2. Emergency contact: Advise passengers to call 911 by cellular telephone in the event of an emergency.

3. Driver direction: Advise passengers to look to the driver for direction and follow his or her instructions.

4. Fire extinguisher: Point out the location of the fire extinguisher.

5. Restroom emergency push button or switch: Inform motorcoach passengers of the emergency signal device in the restroom.

6. Avoid slips and falls: Warn passengers to exercise care when boarding and exiting the motorcoach and to use the handrail when ascending or descending steps.

7. Encourage passengers to remain seated as much as possible while the motorcoach is in motion. If it is necessary to walk while the motorcoach is moving, passengers should always use handrails and supports.

Presentation method

The FMCSA suggested a variety of methods of presenting the safety information. However, it also said its list of ways of providing safety information was neither exhaustive nor should it be construed to restrict combinations of the methods or additional presentation methods.

1. During passenger boarding: Informational pamphlets could be distributed to passengers during boarding.

2. After passenger boarding and immediately prior to moving the motorcoach:

a. The driver requests the passengers to review informational pamphlets located in the pouches or sleeves on the back of seats.

b. The driver provides an oral presentation (similar to the presentations by airline flight attendants prior to take-off) with or without informational pamphlets as visual aids.

c. An automated audio presentation broadcasts a cassette tape or compact disk over the motorcoach audio system.

d. An automated video presentation plays a videotape or DVD on the coach video system.

Timing, frequency

Heres when the FMCSA says safety briefings should be given:

Demand-responsive motorcoach operations, such as charter-and-tour services, should present the safety information to passengers after boarding and prior to movement of the motorcoach.

Fixed-route motorcoach service operations should present the safety information at all major stops or terminals, after passenger boarding and prior to movement of the motorcoach.

United Motorcoach Association President and CEO Victor Parra said the FMCSA plan was thorough, flexible and practical, with "reasonable and tolerable financial considerations for operators to implement."

Added a leading coach safety expert: "The FMCSA did great work on this guidance -- although they took waaaaaaay too long."