For decades, arguments have raged over whether or not school bus seat belts were a good idea. The official stance was that school buses were already so safe that the additional protection brought by belts would be minimal, or even cause as many problems as solved. However, in recent years, this conventional wisdom has come under intense scrutiny, with experiments at various scales being conducted.
Most of them point towards school bus seat belts being a good idea after all.
When it comes to school bus safety, there is probably no more divisive issue than the question of whether seat belts should be mandated for school buses. After all, belts have been required in other pedestrian vehicles like cars and pickups for fifty years - but they have never been mandated in school buses. Should they be?
This is the question discussed in a new documentary funded by Montana's Public Broadcasting System, called "Safe Enough?" The new hour-long film is creating quite a stir and has already begun to win regional awards. Many are already beginning to wonder if it will tilt the conversation in favor of mandated seat belts.
Are school bus seat belts a feature that would save lives, or are they more trouble than they're worth? For decades, the conventional wisdom was the latter: Buses are already so safe that any benefits added by belts would be minimal, and counterbalanced with new safety problems they'd create. However, more and more evidence is starting to challenge this perception.
When it comes to school transportation safety, few issues have been more contentious than the matter of school bus seat belts. Do they do more good than harm? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? For much of the 20th Century, the general conclusion was “No.” Seat belts, it was said, added significant costs to buses without adding substantially to physical safety, and even introduced new dangers in cases where students were wearing their seat belts incorrectly.
For decades, one of the most controversial subjects involving school bus safety was the matter of seat belts: Should school bus seat belts be mandated?
The debate has been reignited this summer with the introduction of Ohio House Bill 680 on May 22, 2018. In response to a recent tragic crash which killed a student and teacher, the bill would require all buses purchased after June 1, 2019, to come with lap/shoulder belts on all passenger seats, as well as mandating an aggressive upgrade policy for existing buses.
The debate over the installation of seatbelts in school buses isn’t likely to end soon. Many states now require, or have introduced legislation to require, seatbelts on vehicles that transport students. While it’s easy to assume that installing seatbelts would be the solution to ensuring school bus safety, the issue is rather complex, with compelling arguments made on both sides.
One of the main arguments against the installation of seatbelts is that buses are considered extremely safe. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that an average of six students die in school bus crashes each year, compared to the 42,000 people killed in other types of traffic accidents.
Though national safety groups, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, are now advocating for the installation of seatbelts on buses, most states do not require this feature. Nebraska State Senator Robert Hilkemann would like to add his state to the list of those who have a school bus seatbelt law on the books.
In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced its endorsement of seat belts on school buses. The National Safety Council (NSC) now shares this view and has made its endorsement of seat belts on school buses public.
It's one of the most common pieces of
common knowledge regarding school bus safety: Buses don't need seat belts because they're already so safe that belts simply aren't necessary, so there's no point installing them.
But is that about to change?
State laws regarding school transportation and required school bus safety procedures vary vastly from state to state. Until just last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommended against the use of seatbelts on school buses. Now they suggest the use of lap and shoulder belts. Florida is one of the states that now requires seatbelts on school buses.
