Ask A Stupid Question…
Posted by Slobokan @ 22:10 · 151 words · print
The headline? Should All School Buses Have Seatbelts?
The debate over the use of seatbelts in school buses may get new energy after Tuesday’s fatal six-vehicle accident on the Downtown Connector involving a school bus.
Sixteen students from Woodward Academy who were on that bus, walked away unharmed, police said, because they were wearing newly-designed seatbelts.
The impact of the crash was clear — and in the moments after the collision, it was a sight everyone had held their breaths for. All 16 students left their bus for another one — unharmed.
Investigators said the main reason they were able to walk away, was seatbelts on the bus.
How many times have we heard of the injuries and deaths on school buses as a result of sometimes minor accidents? After watching all 16 of those students walk off that bus, uninjured, do they really need to ask that question?
Posted In: Local Yokel
Posted by Bridget
February 8, 2007 @ 07:23
I am all for seatbelts on schoolbuses. It is a safety issue that extends beyond car accidents. Having 60 children seatbelted to their seats during transportation would be easier for the driver as well, who would not have to yell constantly for children to sit down, get out of the aisles, etc. It prevents children from having to sit on each other's laps. It would likely help prevent fights from breaking out as well (although we all know children and teens – if they are bent on fighting, not much except for adult interference is going to stop them – I've seen that first hand). It would also help prevent over-crowding. (Last year one of my daughter's buses was so overcrowded that children had to sit on each other's laps or on the aisle floor. This was brought to the attention of the transportation office but nothing was done about it. My husband started taking the kids to school himself after that. As a society we get so angry when we see people driving around in cars and trucks with their children bouncing all over the seats. We scream how dangerous it is. Yet I think the danger of riding in a school bus – or any bus, for that matter – is without a seatbelt is equally dangerous. Going over a huge bump can toss younger children straight in to the air. Stopping too fast can propel them forward to the seat in front of them.
If the schools care for our children as much as they say they do, seatbelts will be installed on all buses.
Posted by Ed Winslow
February 8, 2007 @ 11:22
Maybe this time it worked, but what about the times when the bus is on fire or in a lake or river and the driver is incapacitated and can't release the seat belts of the little kids? If the bus is upside down it is also hard to release the buckle because there is too much pressure on it… kids will drown or burn up!!!
Would you like a male driver reaching down to the crotch area of your daughter to make sure she is buckled in?
It has been proven that with lap belts there would be more injuries than without them because a childs bones aren't developed fully and are soft (until about age 19) and would break and or more internal injuries also would occur. Studies have been done using 3 point seat belts and at a cost of $100,000,000 (to equip ALL the buses in the USA) it would probably save ONE childs life. With 3 point seat belts, unfortunately "one size" dosen't fit all.
Your child is 7.5 times safer riding the school bus to school than riding in YOUR own car. All the shape edges and metal have been removed so your child will not hit anything hard. (remember the "grab" handles that used to be on the top of the seats?) The seat backs are higher and thicker than they used to be and the hight of the buses has been increased to keep the children above the damage area of a side impact.
I could go on and on, but if you go to the NHTSB or the NTSB web sites you can find more info to substanuate these facts.
I also am a bus driver and will not have seat belts on my bus unless it becomes law!!
Montana Bus Driver
Posted by Slobokan
February 8, 2007 @ 13:38
Ed,
Do you have a source for your claim that a child is 7.5 times safer riding in a school bus rather than a car?
If you could comment again with links to that claim, along with the costs involved, and links to the NHTSB and NTSB facts you mention, I am sure more people might be persuaded by your position.
I am not arguing against your point, I am simply asking for links to the facts you mention in your comment.
I must, however, point out that I have never seen a child who couldn't release a seatbelt. Having three children of my own, I have seen them release the belts from their child restraitn seats as well as normal belts.
My hat is off to you, as I know driving a school bus in this day and age is no cakewalk.
Posted by Bridget
February 9, 2007 @ 08:39
You can have great difficulty releasing seatbelts from children in cars that have crashed, flipped, been submerged, and on fire… and I would assume the difficulty is greater in a car as the space to work with is smaller than that of a bus. So that arguement does not hold up for me.
As far as having someone "reach between the legs" of my child to buckle them in? This happens in daycare vans across the country, for one thing. For another, any child that is old enough to go to kindergarden should be able to buckle and unbuckle their seatbelts on their own, just as they should be able to zip zippers, button buttons, and snap snaps. And what about the buses for the disabled children? I have seen the drivers/attendants buckling those children in when they are unable to do so as well. Again, another arguement you present that does not hold up for me.
I agree with Slobokan – please provide the links to these statistics.