As a parent with a child that rides a school bus I've pondered the question that has been around since day one of Wisconsin's seat belt laws: why aren't school buses required to make sure all passengers not just have access to but actually use seat belts? The answer I've found comes straight from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
SEATBELTS ON SCHOOL BUSES
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for establishing Federal motor vehicle safety standards to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries from motor vehicle crashes, including those involving school buses. We also work with the states on school bus safety and occupant protection programs. School bus safety is one of our highest priorities.
School bus transportation is one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States. We require all new school buses to meet safety requirements over and above those applying to all other passenger vehicles. These include requirements for improved emergency exits, roof structure, seating and fuel systems, and bus body joint integrity. These requirements help ensure that school buses are extremely safe.
Every year, approximately 394,000 public school buses travel approximately 4.3 billion miles to transport 23.5 million children to and from school and school-related activities. Since 1984, on the average, 11 passengers per year have died in school bus crashes. While each of these fatalities is tragic, it should be noted that the numbers of fatalities among school bus occupants are small when compared to those in other types of motor vehicles. For example, in 1995, twelve occupants in a school-bus-body type vehicle died in a crash. During the same year, 8,168 children between the ages of 5 and 20 died as passengers or drivers in all other types of motor vehicles.
School bus crash data show that a Federal requirement for belts on buses would provide little, if any, added protection in a crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) have come to the same conclusion. NTSB concluded in a 1987 study of school bus crashes that most fatalities and injuries were due to occupant seating positions being in direct line with the crash forces. NTSB stated that seat belts would not have prevented most of the serious injuries and fatalities occurring in school bus crashes.
In 1989, NAS completed a study of ways to improve school bus safety and concluded that the overall potential benefits of requiring seat belts on large school buses are insufficient to justify a Federal requirement for mandatory installation. NAS also stated that the funds used to purchase and maintain seat belts might better be spent on other school bus safety programs and devices that could save more lives and reduce more injuries.
Rather than requiring seat belts, NHTSA decided that the best way to provide crash protection to passengers is through a concept called "compartmentalization." This requires that the interior of large buses provide occupant protection so that children are protected without the need to buckle-up. Occupant crash protection is provided by a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs. The effectiveness of compartmentalization has been confirmed in the NTSB and NAS studies.
Small school buses, those with a gross vehicle weight rating under 10,000 pounds, must be equipped with lap or lap/shoulder belts at all designated seating positions. Since their sizes and weights are closer to those of passenger cars and trucks, the agency believes seat belts in those vehicles are necessary to provide occupant protection.
School bus pedestrian fatalities account for the highest number of school bus related fatalities each year. There are about 31 such fatalities per year, about two-thirds of which involve the school bus itself and about one-third of which involve motorists illegally passing the stopped school bus. In its 1989 report, NAS stated that since children are at "greater risk of being killed in school bus loading zones (i.e., boarding and leaving the bus) than in the bus, a larger share of the school bus safety effort should be directed to improving the safety of school bus loading zones." NHTSA agrees with NAS that states and localities should focus their efforts toward improving school bus loading zones.
While no Federal requirement exists for seat belts on large school buses, states and localities are free to install them if they feel it is in the best interest of safety in their area. However, the NAS report states that if seat belts are to be beneficial, "states and local school districts that require seat belts on school buses must ensure not only that all school bus passengers wear the belts, but that they wear them correctly."
Seat belts have been required on passenger cars since 1968. Forty-nine states have enacted laws requiring the wearing of seat belts in passenger cars and light trucks. Laws governing the usage of occupant restraints are the prerogative of each state. We strongly believe that wearing seat belts is important. On December 28, 1996, in his weekly radio address, President Clinton asked all Americans to always wear seat belts as the first line of defense against injuries and fatalities. On April 16, 1997, Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater submitted a Presidential Initiative to Increase Seat Belt Use Nationwide. It emphasizes the strong enforcement of occupant protection laws as a key component and calls for Members of Congress, Federal agencies, governors, mayors, law enforcement, business and others to play active roles in this national endeavor.
School buses are heavier, experience less crash forces, and distribute crash forces differently than do passenger cars and light trucks. Because of this, the crash force experienced by the passengers of large buses is much less than that experienced by occupants of passenger cars, light trucks, or vans. Federal regulations require the installation of occupant restraints in motor vehicles based on the vehicle type and size. Because the safety record of school buses is outstanding, and because there is no compelling evidence to suggest that seat belts would provide even higher levels of occupant protection in crashes, NHTSA agrees with the NAS report that there is insufficient reason for a Federal mandate for seat belts on large school buses.
So...we can sleep soundly knowing the NHTSA says our kids are safe. According to them we don't actually have to worry about that incredible video of the school bus driving over the wooden bridge (after the driver had a medical attack of some sort) where you see students being thrown back and forth, hitting the ceiling and floor and bouncing over seats.
Nor do we have to worry about all the horrifying pictures of school bus creases we've seen on our local news over the years.
It seems that because buses are big and yellow on the outside they don't need seatbelts on the inside. Maybe I'll paint my vehicle school bus yellow - think I could get out of a 'failure to wear a seatbelt' ticket with the "big and yellow" defense?
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