NTSB urges bus design change

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that school bus design be modified to remove protruding handles or latches at emergency doors. It also recommended that seat bottoms be secured with fail-safe locking mechanisms to protect passengers in a crash. The safety board issued the recommendations during a Nov. 14 hearing on a 1999 school bus crash near Central Bridge, N.Y. The crash occurred on Oct. 21, 1999, as a school bus with 52 passengers — 44 children and eight adults — ran a stop sign and was struck by a 26-ton dump truck traveling an estimated 39 mph. Seven bus passengers sustained serious injuries, while 28 others received minor injuries. Thirteen of the bus passengers and the bus driver were uninjured. The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the crash was the bus driver’s failure to heed the stop sign due to his “degraded performance or lapse of attention as a result of factors associated with aging or his medical condition or both.” The bus driver, William J. Treacy, had a history of failing to take his diabetes medication and possibly was disoriented. Just before the crash, investigators said, Treacy had made a wrong turn and was struggling to find his way to a pumpkin patch, the field trip destination. Treacy was 79 years old at the time of the crash, and investigators said “age-related factors” might have played a role. A former police officer, Treacy began driving a bus in 1996 and had a spotless record. He was employed by Kinnicutt Bus Co., which operated the bus for the Albany City School District. The NTSB concluded that potential exists for injuries to passengers seated adjacent to side emergency exits with protruding door handles and latches during side-impact or rollover accidents. One NTSB investigator reported that a chaperone broke her thumb and sprained her wrist when she was slammed against an unpadded emergency-exit door handle. Although most of the passengers were wearing lap belts, NTSB investigators were unable to determine whether the restraints reduced the risk of injury, based on actual data as well as computer simulations. The NTSB determined that some passengers may have sustained more severe injuries because the seat cushion bottoms were unlatched. Investigators said 13 of the 22 seat cushions on the bus were unlatched or loose. In its report, the NTSB recommended to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) that its members be informed of the safety hazards of not ensuring that the seat cushion bottom latching clips are properly engaged at all times. It also recommended that NASDPTS members be informed of the potential for injury to child passengers from protruding door handles or latching mechanisms on emergency exit doors. Not placing children in seat positions adjacent to the emergency exit doors could help to reduce the potential for injury, the report said. Digital animations of the crash can be downloaded from the NTSB’s Website. Click here to download the digital file.

Allison Transmission issues AT545 recall

INDIANAPOLIS — Allison Transmission has issued a recall of AT545 transmissions that might contain a torque converter that has an inadequately heat-treated component. If this condition exists, a failure of the torque converter is likely to occur that could change the vehicle performance and/or shift quality. The recall includes both new and remanufactured transmissions. New transmissions with the following serial numbers are being recalled: 3210988813 through 3211064342. ReTran™ units being recalled have serial numbers 9108086917 through 9108101327 and were built between April 1999 and April 2000. Also recalled are torque converter service parts sold by Allison distributors and dealers between April 1999 and April 2000. According to a bulletin issued by Allison, distributors will repair or replace transmissions, service parts kits and ReTran™ units subject to this campaign at no charge to owners regardless of mileage, age of vehicle or ownership. For more information, visit Allison’s Website at www.allisontransmission.com or contact your local Allison dealer or distributor.