LONG BEACH, Calif. The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board is looking for the motorcoach industry to come up with a "zero."

And shes calling on tour-and-charter operators from across the country to lead the way.

Deborah Hersman, who has headed the agency since 2009, challenged operators at the opening session of the UMA Motorcoach Expo here last month to work toward going a full year without a motorcoach accident fatality.

"The safety culture in the industry starts at the top," she said. "I encourage you to raise your safety standards."

Although acknowledging the industrys strong safety record, she noted that 2011 was marred by a rash of deadly accidents that shook up the industry.

Twenty accidents last year killed nearly three dozen riders and seriously injured another 370.

"It was not a good year," she said. "Safety is not just part of your business, but it has to be your business."

Hersman said she was thrilled to see so many motorcoaches equipped with many of the latest high-tech safety features, and she expressed appreciation for the well-trained drivers behind the wheel of many of them.

"Weve got to make sure that professional drivers are able to do their jobs properly," she said. "No matter how efficient the technology is, it is up to the driver to use it."

She said there are challenges that could tax the goal of reaching a zero fatality year, suggesting that barriers to entering the industry are extremely low and penalties issued to violators by federal regulators do not appear to be much of a deterrent.

"And, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration does not have enough staff," she noted.

Still, she expressed confidence in operators being able to get the job done and meeting the zero goal.

Hersman was followed at the podium by FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, who delivered some good news to operators who have been frustrated by some aspects of the agencys Compliance Safety Accountability Program.

She said operators soon will be able to challenge accidents that were not the fault of their drivers. Currently, all accidents are listed in the CSA system with no mention of who was responsible.

Ferro told operators that last years high number of fatalities resulting from motorcoach crashes has made regulators more aggressive than in the past.

"It was a real wakeup call for us to up the ante," she said.

She warned operators that the agency will continue its broad campaign to force bad drivers off the highways and bad operators out of the industry.

That means more strike force inspections and compliance reviews and much closer scrutiny of company safety records and scores.

"We will use every tool available to shut down bad carriers," she said.

Ferro said her agency also continues studying hours-of-service regulations for drivers, and is working on certifying physicians who give medical examinations to drivers, reviving a court-blocked mandate for the use of electronic onboard recorders, and opening up more company safety records to the public so consumers can make a more informed choice when hiring a carrier.