School Bus Safety Concerns

SCHOOL BUS SAFETYCONCERNS

We all received a “wakeup call” on November 21, 2016 when a tragic school bus rollover accident occurred in Chattanooga, TN where six children were killed and more than 20 injured. The children did not have any seat belt protection even though the bus was speeding down a narrow winding country road.

The use of seat belts in school buses has been a long standing debate for more than 40 years. Starting in 1977, the NHTSA mandated school bus (>10K lbs) safety features (e.g. padded high seat; increased roof and side strength; stop signs; special rear view mirrors; swing out arms; emergency exits; flashing lights) with the primary focus for student safety in crashes on the theory of “compartmentalization”. Closely spaced, highly padded seats are meant to contain children during crashes and minimize injury by having children, once propelled, only impact the seat backs and then remain in the space between the seats.

The application of the compartmentalization in buses is meant to limit but not prevent children’s injuries. The theory primarily focuses and is most effective in dealing with front or rear school bus crashes. Failure of the theory occurs during rollovers* or side crashes, children typically will leave the “compartment” and be ejected or fly around the inside of the bus with resulting serious injuries as happened in Chattanooga. The NHTSA only recently (2015) changed their position and encouraged states to install of lap-shoulder belts to decrease injuries in school bus crashes but still haven’t mandated lap-shoulder belts.

On average, five to six children die each year in the US and many more are injured from school bus crashes. The current incidence of fatalities and serious injuries of children indicates that currently required school bus safety features are inadequate, present an unacceptable risk and need to be upgraded as soon as possible to increase the safety of our children. Six states, i.e. NY(1989)-NJ(1995)-CA-LA-TX-FL (1999) and more than 200 school districts now require seat belts in school buses. A number of physician/safety associations have recommended seat belts in school buses, e.g. the AMA, Physicians for Automotive Safety, College of Preventive Medicine, American Association of Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, American Society of Adolescent Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics

Why haven’t school districts adopted lap-shoulder seat belts for school buses?**

1. Cost= Lap-shoulder seat belts costs are ~$8K/bus for new and ~$12K/bus for existing buses

2. Safety Record= Urgency is discounted since school buses have an excellent safety record for the total # students carried/miles covered but fatalities and serious injuries still occur.

3. Delay= Uncoupling seat belts are not expected to delay exiting from a bus with fires or water immersion since belt buckles are familiar and the same as passenger cars.

4. Local Travel= School buses travel mostly on local side streets but still carry children to school sponsored events where highway travel is involved

The incorporation of seat belts has the secondary effects of increasing order on the bus by improving behavior, decreasing driver distractions and encourages future seat belt use by children in private cars.

Quick Release-Adjustable Lap-Shoulder Belts Represent a Substantial and Recognized Upgrade in School Bus Safety for Our Most Precious Cargo.

*https://youtu.be/KbCciy8ePds **http://www.safeguardseat.com/resources/no-more-excuses/