Blue Bird Buses Are Adding Driver Airbags as a Standard Safety Feature

School bus safety discussions typically center on student safety, which is certainly important - but don't forget about your school bus drivers! In many cases, the driver is the most vulnerable person onboard during a crash, with fewer protections than the students.

School bus manufacturer Blue Bird is trying to change this. They recently announced that driver airbags will be standard in all their buses going forward - but is this a feature worth paying for?

• The Pros and Cons of Airbags in Buses

  The lack of driver airbags in buses has sometimes been cited as a safety flaw, given how many things there are in the cabin that could harm a driver. It's true that the driver has a seat belt, even on buses where students don't, but airbags are still an important safety addition. Estimates are that airbags save around 30% of people in accidents who would have otherwise died.

  So buying Blue Bird buses provides a very real safety upgrade for your drivers. This could also become a significant 'selling point' when recruiting drivers, something you could point at to show your district's commitment to bus driver safety.

• However, one does have to wonder whether this is worth the extra cost. Blue Bird had to partner with a manufacturer, IMMI, to custom-design airbags that were capable of fitting into a bus steering column and would work with the interior space. While they haven't announced the exact costs of this, it seems reasonable to assume that the airbags will add thousands to the cost of a bus.

  No one wants to see vehicular deaths, but school buses are already incredibly safe. One study looking at bus-related fatalities found that in a ten-year span between 2013-2022, there were merely fifty driver fatalities in total. Even assuming a 30% increased survival rate from airbags, that would only save 1-2 lives per year, nationwide.

  With school budgets tight, the money which would go towards buying airbags could probably be put to more productive uses. If anything, you would likely be paying for drivers' peace of mind, more than actual safety.

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Sonia Mastros

PRESIDENT

 Sonia has been involved with BusBoss since the late 1990’s, and has personally overseen many projects for various customers ranging from large urban and suburban districts to smaller rural school districts from all over the country.