here is a question i wanted to know since i was 5 years old about buses, details below?

Question

why don't buses have seat belts?

Answer 1

because the bus is so big and the seat infront of you is padded. the bus is for mainly around town and wont be going any where fast so you wont get hurt.

now if theres a bomb on the bus and it cant drop below 60mph then you have a problem

Answer 2

I'm guessing people getting on and off so frequently. People standing up, etc. Buses needn't worry much about collisions. Here in Toronto, buses always have right of way by law. If a bus makes a stop and suddenly turns a left signal on to merge back into traffic, it may do so immediately and not have to wait for vehicles in the right lane to let him through. Any such collision is now the other driver's fault. It's a good law, and one that makes buses safe.

Answer 3

On Sunday, a charter bus crashed in New Orleans, killing 23 people. The vehicle had no seat belts, which are not required in large buses, including school buses. Why are these vehicles exempted from seat belt laws?

The chief justification is a 1987 study by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which looked at 43 serious crashes involving school buses without seat belts. Researchers concluded that seat belts would have been no help in most of these accidents. The study reasoned that closely-spaced bus seats essentially function as seat belts, in that they prevent passengers from being thrown around. A 1989 National Academy of Sciences study came to a similar conclusion.

But the 1990s saw a series of injuries and deaths in which passengers were tossed around or ejected from the bus. Last year, the NTSB president called for a "re-examination" of the issue, and a NTSB report is due this summer. On Tuesday, USA Today said the report is "expected" to endorse seat belts, though the article doesn't identify its source. Meanwhile, a number of respected organizations--the national PTA, American Medical Association, American College of Emergency Physicians--have endorsed the idea of requiring belts. And in most European countries, school buses have both lap and shoulder belts.

The biggest objection to requiring seat belts is their cost. It can cost $1,100 to $1,600 per bus to add seat belts at the factory, and even more to retrofit a bus. The anti-seatbelt faction often adds that school buses are quite safe right now, with only an average of 11 passengers dying per year in crashes. Though it's rarely stated outright, the argument is that installing seat belts to save some portion of these 11 lives cannot justify the enormous cost.

What in fact would be the cost? Well, there are 440,000 school buses in America. Conservatively assuming that it costs $1,500 per bus to add seat belts, the total cost of mandating their use would be $660 million. Since the average school bus lasts 12 to 15 years, the program would cost between $44 million and $55 million per year. Assuming that seat belts would save all 11 students who die each year, then the program would cost roughly $4 million to $5 million per life saved. If seat belts save only some of the 11 students, then the cost per life would be even higher.

Is a human life worth this much? Some may find the very question callous. Economists reply that it would be callous for safety regulators to duck this question, since overspending on safety in one area usually means underspending on safety in another. At any rate, federal agencies long ago embraced cost-benefit analysis. For instance, the Transportation Department has decided that a human life is worth $2.7 million, a figure that argues against mandatory seat belts. The statistic is based on an estimate of future earnings. On the other hand, a series of economic studies values human life between $3 million and $7 million. These estimates are derived by estimating the wage premium workers demand to accept high-risk jobs.

Answer 4

Thats a GREAT Question!! NO seat belts on buses, But all planes have then. How many plane crashes have you heard of where a person says "I lived the crash because the airline made me wear a Seat Belt. lol

Answer 5

Because the seats are big enough to pad the children from any injuries during an accident.
It's probably because kids would use the seat belts as weapons or something. Kids are distructive and mean sometimes.

Answer 6

As a former bus operator, that question was asked and the nswer was the operator is supposed to be the vehicle expert. In other words, the driver is supposed to be highly experienced driving a passenger vehicle. I never wrecked but some of my passengers got a nasty neck jerk when a fool drove out in front of me from a blind alleyway. There aren't many experienced drivers left.

Answer 7

Until recently, manufacturers were not REQUIRED to install belts, so do you think they will give up profits and install them out of the goodness of their hearts??? no chance.

(This is about the 648th time this has been asked)

Answer 8

Because bureaucrats care about money, not children.

PS There are fatalities in school bus accidents all the time!

Answer 9

they don`t have seat belts because if you crash the seat in front of you will stop you from hitting the window.

Answer 10

its probably a money issue, but because they have the safety like seat pads in front of everyone, nobody should really get hurt.