3-Point Seat Belts Coming To All Paramus School Buses

PARAMUS, NJ — Three-point seat belts will be installed in all school district buses and in four new buses the district is purchasing.

The Board of Education at a public meeting Monday authorized the installation of the seat belts.

The decision comes almost exactly a month after two people were killed and 43 others were injured in a horrific bus crash after a district school bus collided with a dump truck on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive.

The district will go out for a bid to retrofit all schools buses with three-point seat belts. The district will spend an additional $21,300 to install the seat belts on four new school buses it is purchasing from Truck King International Sales & Services of Newark.

A student passenger on the bus that crashed on I-80 says the seat belts did not fit students properly and were loose.

A student on-board the Paramus bus at the time of the crash spoke publicly about the role of seat belts, saying he did not think lap belts were enough.

"Paramus, as good as it is, I think we need more safety precautions, like a three-point seat belt," Peter Caminiti III said at a Paramus Board of Education meeting following the crash.

Caminiti III, who suffered a serious concussion in the crash, said the bus's lap seat belts did not fit properly.

"Bus drivers should always check to make sure their passengers are buckled because a lot of students had faulty seat belts," said Caminiti's father, Peter Caminiti Jr. "As soon as they would latch, they were loose."

Caminiti III testified before state lawmakers Monday that he woke up from the crash hanging from his seatbelt, NJ.com reported.

"You can't put a price on life," Caminiti testified, according to the report.

Several days after the bus crash, the National Transportation Safety Board released recommendations that all states require full three-point seat belts in school buses. Those new guidelines were issued as the result of two deadly bus crashes in November 2016. New Jersey is one of several states that currently requires lap belts on all large school buses.

The NTSB did not investigate the Mount Olive crash, although they did gather information the day-of.

Identical bills have been introduced in the state Senate and the Assembly that would require all new school buses to have "three-point lap and shoulder seat belts for each seating position on the bus or other child restraint systems that are in conformity with applicable federal standards."

The May 17 crash killed teacher Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy and 10-year-old student Miranda Faith Vargas, and injured 43 others, some critically. It's not clear if shoulder seat belts would have reduced the number of injuries.

Investigators previously told NBC 4 that video footage from a Department of Transportation camera shows the bus cutting across lanes of traffic to attempt an illegal U-turn through an area for emergency vehicles. The video reportedly shows the dump truck slamming into the bus as it attempts to get onto I-80 eastbound.

The bus's driver, Hudy Muldrow Sr. was charged with two counts of death by auto, commonly referred to as vehicular manslaughter.

With reporting by Katie Kausch, Patch staff

Related:

• Seat Belts Didn't Fit Correctly Before Bus Crash: Student
• Was School Bus Trying To Make Illegal U-Turn Before Rt. 80 Crash?
• Paramus Stands By Handling Of School Bus Driver In Fatal Crash
• Driver Charged In Fatal NJ School Bus Crash: Prosecutor
• Family Of Paramus Student Bus Crash Victim To Sue School District

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Image: Emergency personnel work at the scene of the fatal Paramus school bus crash on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Thursday morning. (By Avi Gibli, used with permission)