Should seat belts be mandatory in school buses?

Question

I believe they should be and I would like comments on the pros and cons please.I think children should be safe at all times in any vehicle.

Answer 1

Okay, at your request, let's take a look at both sides of this issue.

CONS:

Absolutely not. This is another fine example of how the public has convinced themselves that something is needed where it's not!

Neither lap nor lap-and-shoulder belts on a bus provide the same type of protection offered in a car. During a head-on collision, the most common type for belts, lap belts, increase the risk of injury. On impact, this type of restraint allows a passenger's head to jerk forward, risking severe head and neck injury. Lap and shoulder belts would require the installation of stiffer seats. These seats could become a source of impact injury. Studies also showed that children slip downwards when restrained by lap and shoulder belts, risking injury to vulnerable internal organs.

In 1999, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) examined the effect of seat belt installation in buses. They came to the conclusion that seat belts actually would result in head injuries and fatalities. In fact, the NTSB found a relationship between most injuries/deaths and the seating position of the passenger. In these cases, the presence of seat belts would change nothing.

While there is no evidence proving that seat belts on buses save lives, there is reason to worry they may cause harm. During an emergency, seat belts could hinder young children from quickly exiting the bus; they simply could not free themselves. Drivers would be hard pressed to monitor belt usage for every student. And the heavy buckles could be used as weapons.

Studies by federal agencies, including the NTSB, have shown bus construction provides greater safety than seat belts ever could. Comparing the design of a school bus to a car is like comparing apples to oranges. Where belts protect passengers during car collisions, their presence may cause severe injuries on a bus. Seatbelts are only required on small buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds because their design more closely resembles a car. It is ironic, but the reality is that seat belts have no place on a school bus.

PROS:

Abosutely. The opponents want us to believe it's a risky addition, but, consider the following...

Opponents say they are harmful to small children. If this is true then why is there a child restraint law in every state. Seatbelts are on school buses have been endorsed by the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, American College of Preventative Medicine, Physicians for Automotive Safety, and Center for Auto Safety.

Opponents claim that seatbelts on school buses are not cost effective and that school districts should weigh costs vs. their school systems safety record. Yet they ignore the fact that seatbelts would cost most districts about $1.50 a child per year or less than a penny a day for this added protection. Even districts with proper driver screening and the best safety records, cannot predict the performance of the "other driver".

Opponents ignore the fact that by not providing seatbelts, a school district is demonstrating a form of NEGATIVE EDUCATION. This negative training carries over to the family car, leaving children defenseless against their number one killer, the automobile collision. Our teens are killed in drastic numbers each year because they haven't learned the importance of wearing a seatbelt. What a great OPPORTUNITY we have before us to educate and condition a new generation of children with this life saving belt.

Opponents state that "compartmentalization" (protection between high-back padded seats) provides sufficient protection, yet they ignore the effects of rear-end, lateral and rollover collisions. During a crash, children become human missiles as they are thrown from their seats, into one another or into aisles, blocking quick evacuation.

Opponents suggest that seatbelts are more trouble then they're worth and that children won't wear them. Wearing seatbelts twice a day, 180 days a year will make wearing seatbelts a routine and not an ordeal. Over 200 school districts across the nation have adopted seatbelts as an added safety feature and report usage rates from 80% to 100%. Districts must encourage, if not demand their usage and support must come from parents, administrators and school bus drivers.

MY OPINION:

There are presently more facts to support the argument against than the argument for. Statistically, thank God, you are far safer traveling on a bus than in a car. But, this isn't about statistics, it's about children's lives. Which would you feel worse hearing... that your child died in a bus roll-over BECAUSE he was wearing a lap belt and it crushed his internal organs or that he died because he didn't have one on and cracked his head on the roof of the bus? Gruesome, I know. But it has to be considered. I think FAR more studies need to be completed beforte we reach a conclusion on EITHER side of this issue.

Answer 2

Mm-hmm Well, it got taken off because kids were strangling each other with the seatbelts... Well, anyways, there are some bad points about it like... 1. The size wont fit, especially as most kids dont know how to tighten/loosen them 2. Most likely to get caught, and won't be able to get out - especially if nearing your stop 3. Children muck around with them - like hitting other children in the head with the buckle 4. Children 'ruin' them and they always end up breakaway - leaving the company having to pay for thousands 5. Stacks of children ride the bus, and they sometimes have to have 3 or even more kids on one seat, and it's not everyday u see more than 3 seatbelts on a 2 seater (again not leaving enough space for the rounder people) 6. The back seat is the longest, and can fit around 4 to like 10. Won't be enough room. If there were only 4 seatbelts, then there won't be enough space, and if there were ten seatbelts - well, you know. 7. School buses aren't school buses all the time, they are also public buses

Answer 3

Yes, they should. They're proven to save lives and prevent injury. Here in Denver a school bus lost control and crashed into a house!
Here is why they don't, enforcement. Can you imagine making a bus full of kids at any age buckle up with constant supervision? Kids turn in their seats to talk to each other, block other kids from sitting, and use the time to unwind.
Finally, there is the very real fact of childhood obesity. The average bus seat is meant to hold 3 students, but more and more, especially with the teens, only two will fit. On buses that are filled to capacity the first two students are smooshed and the last student is hanging into the aisle.
Buses are economical, but they don't don much to protect the kids.

Answer 4

Common sense says buckle up. Most states have seat belt laws, but not for school buses. Parents must secure their children in their private vehicles, but schools are not held to the same standard of care. Why? To save money when the buses are purchased? I've seen children standing in the front of buses, waiting to get off quickly when they reach their stop. Seat belts would put an end to that particular risk. I once asked a bus driver why he allowed the children to do that, and he replied, "So I can finish my route faster and get on home." It's not right to endanger children for a driver's expediency. I say yes to seat belts and safety.

Answer 5

seat belts must be compulsory in all vehicles. The point is, if every kid in the bus is to wear a seat belt, there would be limited no. of children in a bus, and we might be seeing two or even three buses travelling along to the same place. Obviously, school is not going to provide these many buses anyway.

Answer 6

I think that they should be absolutely required in school buses. My son rides the bus every day and I always feel that he is very unsafe, even with the number of adult assistants that ride on the bus as well. If they are mandatory in cars, why are they NOT mandatory in school buses, in which some of the most precious people in our lives must ride each day. To me, regardless of the cuts in budgets, blah blah blah, the safety of my child is of foremost concern. Why seat belts have not become mandatory before now in 2007 is really beyond me!

Answer 7

it would be a good idea. but alot of times school buses are used for other purposes. if a school bus is used by small kindergardeners, and then that same bus is used for big high school football players, could the same belt be both effective for both? what about variation in seating patterns? sometimes 2 small children are crammed into 1 seat and then other times 1 big highschooler sits in another. the last factor needed to be taken into consideration would be safety. if that bus is involved in a crash, would the seatbelts prohibit children from getting out of the bus sooner? would a collision between a car and a bus cause enough damage for children to be thrown out of their seats? all of these ideas would need to be researched before investing in this idea.

Answer 8

this question has my attention,seat belts should be mandatory,when we get in our personal vehicles we have to buckle our kids down if we don't we get tickets for endangering our kids lives,what is the diffrence between us and the bus driver.just as well we can get into an accident with our kids in a car they can too,today our kids arent safe on a bus,they arent paying much of attention or someone who is driving a personal veh.at any given time a bus can have a serious accident, why because of them not paying attention they have no seat belts on a bus for normal kids but they make sure all handicapped busses have seat belt,not being jugemental but our kids are just important as handicape kids to.birth is sometimes long and hard or just a breeze,no parent want to be called with bad news.

Answer 9

yeah they should because i used to ride on the bus and i remember we got a flat tire once and i was afraid the bus would flip and id get seroiusly injured. They do have seat belts but only in the front of the bus. Im surprised they still do not have seat belts, think of all the law suits that could happen.

Answer 10

yes seat belts should mandatory because its more safe for children exspecially the way that the world is now with careless drivers on the road. and the down side to it would be that if there was a fire it would be harder for children to excape the bus.but yes the seatbelts should be a big must

Answer 11

absolutely! this has always bothered me, as my children rode school buses themselves. The same laws of physics that mandated the need for seat belts in cars also apply to buses, so I don't understand why they have not been mandated. It seems so stupid with all little children on board. PLus it would probably make them behave better.