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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The National Highway Traffic Safety
3 Administration (NHTSA), a division of the United States
4 Department of Transportation, has a mission to save lives,
5 prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs due to road traffic
6 crashes, through education, research, safety standards, and
7 enforcement; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The Office of Defects Investigation of the NHTSA
9 is responsible for conducting defect investigations and
10 administering safety recalls to support the NHTSA's mission to
11 improve safety on the nation's highways; and
 
12     WHEREAS, An investigation by the Chicago Tribune in
13 November 2009 concluded that as many as 2,000 school buses
14 across the nation have potentially serious safety problems and
15 are transporting students even though school bus equipment and
16 parts manufacturers and the NHTSA have known about recalled
17 equipment and parts for as many as eight years; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The federal recall process is lengthy and without
19 suitable accountability and safety procedures to ensure that
20 children travel in school buses that are safe and properly
21 maintained; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Recall procedures for vehicles, such as school
2 buses with faulty equipment or parts are a matter of public
3 record as soon as a manufacturer officially files a recall
4 notice; bus companies, however, are not required to review the
5 recall list on the NHTSA website; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The NHTSA has not enforced timely recall efforts
7 by manufacturers of faulty parts and equipment, nor does it
8 have the responsibility to ensure the school bus owners are
9 notified immediately of potential safety issues; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Transportation is the
11 agency required by statute to conduct periodic, non-scheduled
12 inspections of school buses in this State; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
15 urge the United States Department of Transportation to request
16 NHTSA to evaluate the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation's
17 procedural and administrative duties in relation to the
18 promptness and effectiveness of manufacturer recalls; and be it
19 further
 
20     RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of
21 Transportation to review its procedures and duties to ensure
22 that (1) school buses in Illinois are not being driven with

 

 

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1 recalled equipment and parts and (2) children being transported
2 on school buses are safe; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4 delivered to the Illinois congressional delegation, the
5 Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation,
6 and the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation.