The use of seatbelts while driving has been proven to save lives and reduce injuries in a car accident.
Even though the National Safety Council (NSC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommend seatbelt use, children are not required to wear them on school buses. The NSC and the NHTSA only require seatbelt use on school buses that are less than 10,000 pounds, which accounts for only about 20% of the school buses throughout the country. There are six states that passed laws regarding seatbelt use on school buses and those states are New Jersey, New York, California, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. According to NHTSA statistics, there were 174 school transportation-related fatalities involving children from 2003-2012.
A recent crash test by IMMI, the primary supplier of seatbelts for school buses, was administered to determine if school bus passengers wearing seatbelts suffered less injury or death when involved in a bus accident. The test took place at Center for Advanced Product Evaluation utilizing school-aged-sized dummies and included a head on collision and a roll over crash. The simulation revealed that the test dummies that wore seatbelts remained secure in their seats, while the test dummies who did not wear seatbelts were tossed throughout the bus. It was reported by IMMI that children who are on a bus that crashes and who utilize lap shoulder seatbelts can decrease death and injury rates by 50%.
After two 2012 fatal school bus accidents in Chesterfield, New Jersey and Port St. Lucie, Florida, the National Transportation Safety Board found that during severe side impact crashes and rollovers, properly worn lap shoulder belts provided the greatest protection while those not properly restrained were more severely injured.
Although the NHTSA proclaims that riding in a school bus remains one of the safest means of transportation, the head of the NHTSA is looking into the possibility of a federal mandate to require seatbelts in school buses. The cost of installing seatbelts is prohibiting many states from voluntarily equipping the busses. The cost of school buses would increase between $3,000 and $8,000, in addition to $25 billion, to equip all buses in the country with seatbelts. The public feels that although the cost is high, there is no price too costly to protect children passengers.
