Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to Hold National Motorcoach Safety Summit

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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Sep 21, 2011, 10:12 ET

Live Webcast to Allow Public to Join Summit as Diverse Stakeholders Meet in Nation's Capital to Develop Plan to Raise the Motorcoach Industry's Safety Bar

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will host a national Motorcoach Safety Summit on Friday, September 23, 2011, in Washington, D.C. that will bring together motorcoach company owners, drivers, safety advocates, tour operators, brokers, law enforcement, elected officials, and concerned citizens from across the country to develop recommendations to raise to improve safety throughout the motorcoach industry.

Information garnered from a series of regional roundtables in Dallas, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Anaheim, California and New York City will be the basis of the national summit's panel discussions and breakout sessions. The public can go to http://motorcoachsafety.ideascale.com, review stakeholder input from each roundtable and submit additional comments. FMCSA will make the summit available via webcast by visiting the agency's website at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

WHAT:	National Motorcoach Safety Summit
WHEN:	Friday, September 23, 2011
	9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT

WHERE:	Renaissance Downtown Hotel
	Grand Ball Room North
	999 9th Street, Northwest
	Washington, D.C. 20001

PARTICIPANTS:
	Ray LaHood, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
	John Porcari, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
	Anne S. Ferro, Administrator, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

2011 National Motorcoach Safety Summit Agenda Downtown Renaissance Hotel - 999 Ninth Street, NW - Washington, DC 20001

Friday, September 23, 2011
8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
8:00 a.m.	Registration

9:00 a.m.	U.S. Department of Transportation Welcome
	Anne Ferro, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

9:10 a.m.	Opening Address
	Ray LaHood, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation

9:30 a.m.	OneDOT – On the Move for Motorcoach Safety
	A brief update on current motorcoach safety initiatives.

	Facilitator –
	Jack Van Steenburg, Chief Safety Officer and Assistant Administrator,
	Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

	Panelist –
	Anne Ferro, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
	Peter Appel, Administrator, Research & Innovative Technology Administration
	David Strickland, Administrator, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
	Peter Rogoff, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration
	Tony Furst, Acting Associate Administrator for Safety, Federal Highway Administration

10:15 a.m.	Break

10:30 a.m.	Safety 1^st – Stakeholders' Perspective
	A discussion with a diverse panel offering differing viewpoints regarding motorcoach safety.

	Facilitator –
	Annie Collins, Associate Administrator for Field Operations, FMCSA

	Panelist –
	Mr. Lawrence J. Hanley, Amalgamated Transit Union
	Ms. Jackie Gillan, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
	Dr. Yen-Chi Le, Victims Advocate
	Lt. Donald Bridge, Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles
	Mr. Stephen Story, James River Bus Line

11:30 a.m.	Lunch - Legislative Perspectives on Motorcoach Safety
	– Speaker Invited–

12:30 p.m.	National Motorcoach Safety Roundtable
	Bryna Helfer, Director of Public Engagement, U.S. Department of Transportation

	11 Breakout Sessions Major Themes:
	Training and Knowledge Gaps
	Uniformity of Enforcement
	Fatigue
	Outreach and Public Awareness

1:45 p.m.	Break

2:00 p.m.	Roundtables Report out

3:00 p.m.	Commit to Think Safety Every Trip, Every Time…Next Steps
	John Porcari, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation

3:30	Close