Should seat belts be on all school buses?

Question

I believe that school buses are safe as it is. The term Compartment seating is something that bus companies use for safety instead of seat belts. My opinion is this.... If I were to be in an accident and I as the driver were unconcious, who would help the kids to safety if they were all buckled in? Ok, Older children could be of assistance. Now also think of this. A school bus catches on fire, I have to unbuckle and get every student off the bus in under 4 minutes. almost impossible. Older kids will be panicing and under intense circumstances kids will forget basic stuff. There is not enough time to get all the children to safety. Buses are built higher so that impact will occur below the children. The seat backs in a bus are higher now then ever. even as a full grown adult my head bearly reaches the top of the seat. That is my opinion. I would like to hear others be it pro or con.

Since the year has started there have been a few accidents at my company. Each time all the students were fine, not a scratch on them. I understand extreme circumstances ever debate has them. I can honestly say that there have been more accidents viewed on the road in one week then there have been bus accidents since the begining of the year in my school district. Our drivers are CDL, school bus and passenger endorsed. Also 8 hours of defensive driving classes. 12 hours of meetings and year. Not to mention monthly bulletins about new stratigies for driving safely. I take my job seriously and so do many of our drivers. My daughter is on the bus with me and I would never put her in harms way. I don't buckle her in (although I do have a seatbelt for her). I feel that the safety of the bus is not in need of seatbelts. Again I do understand extremes just like rollovers and accidents with larger vehicles. That is the respondsibility of the driver and the driver alone.

Answer 1

Until I read your comments, I felt there should be - but you have made alot of good points! I now agree with you! Thanks for teaching me something new,lots of what you said, I did not realize!

Answer 2

I have heard these arguments before, but I wonder:

Without seatbelts, what stops a child from being thrown around like a rag doll should the bus flip over? Compartmentalization only works if the occupants remain in their compartments during a crash. In school bus accidents involving rollover or side impact with a vehicle of large mass (tractor trailer, dump truck, etc), injury and fatality rates are much higher than "average" because occupants are thrown out of their compartments and into surfaces that are not designed to absorb impact energy. In 1999, the NTSB conducted a Special Investigation analyzing school bus crashes of this type, which found compartmentalization to be ineffective.

Evidence points to a greater risk of injury from a lap belt only, however a lap/shoulder combination is the best protection currently available. And in most school bus accidents in which seatbelts are worn, children unlatch themselves and exit the bus on their own.

Answer 3

I disagree. They should be installed for the safety of children. There are too many bad drivers out there. I think not having seat belts on school buses is a real hazard to to days children.

Answer 4

I agree with u! I hate riding the bus with seat belts cuz u always have 2 adjust them smaller or bigger!