Why School Bus Seat Belt Laws Need to Change

School buses manufactured in the United States after 1985 are equipped with seat belts. Each state has the responsibility for passing and enforcing seat belt laws.

Bluebird is the largest school bus manufacturer. Although its safety belts began appearing in smaller, van-type buses as early as 1978, it did not begin installing seat belts in all vehicles until the mid '80s.

Since the mid-1990s, seat belts in new school buses have changed from being one belt per seat to one belt per occupant. This was a measure adopted to keep schools from over crowding buses. Single seat belts reinforced the concept that the bus is safest at or below the recommended number of occupants.

State seat belt laws are not changed often. The proceeds from violations of the laws are normally earmarked for road repair, which is subsidized by the Federal government, enforcing the laws on school buses has not been priority. Considering the US driving record of school bus drivers, there has been no public outcry for a change in the law in nearly two decades.

In the 80s, staunch advocates against seat belts for school buses mounted a successful campaign to block a Federal incentive for states which passed school bus seat belt laws. Citing reasons like belt-slippage decapitation, individual weight differences and (faulty) free fall information, these advocates believed that seat belts posed more danger than safety.

States which were proposing the legislation lost their incentive to pass the measure, as there was no longer any profit. The official press release from the spin doctors was that school bus seat belts were not proven to decrease the injury to the riders in the crash investigations. What was removed from the press release was the investigation findings were biased toward fatality: No test dummy survived any of the crashes, with or without a seat belt.

Further supporting the abandonment of the legislation, this statement also issued: Constitutionality of regulating parochial schools is a question as yet unanswered by the Supreme Court. This was, in totality, because no such case existed. Parochial schools have never filed suit to avoid adherence to any state education or safety regulation to date.

Yet, schools, both public and parochial, and parents continued to advocate for their students' safety directly to the school bus manufacturers. This lead to the installation of seat belts.

Parochial schools, individually, may require their students to wear seat belts. In the absence of state legislation, public schools may not.

Until the parents demand that the law be changed regardless of the profit margin, child safety will take the proverbial backseat in state legislatures.

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Driveway Safety for Children and Drivers

Driveways can be dangerous places for children and drivers. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports children under age four are the most likely to be killed in a back-up accident off-road. All of these accidents can be avoided.

While these children are only 6% of the American population, they represent more than 30% of this type fatality. The elderly, school-aged children and teens make up almost all of the statistics. Very few adults are killed in back-up, off road accidents.

The NHTSA calls these fatalities “non-occupant” since the child is not an occupant of the car. These “accidents” are off-road because they happen while drivers are backing out of driveways instead of on the street or highway.

Why are the statistics so high?
Since young children do not have physical stature (height), they cannot be seen easily from inside the car. This means drivers must exercise more caution when driving when children are present around the vehicle.

The child’s lack of comprehension places them in greater risk than older children and adults. Simply put, they do not understand the danger of a moving vehicle or the finality of death.

How to avoid these accidents
Watch the children.
Always know where the child is. Know each child’s location, especially when around motor vehicles: cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUV), off-road vehicles, motorcycles and recreational vehicles (RV), as well as lawn equipment (like mowers), tractors and agricultural equipment (like threshers).

It’s not a play toy.
Do not allow children to play in, on, under or around vehicles of any type. Children can become trapped under a vehicle. They can unknowingly put the vehicle into gear and hurt another child while playing inside. Falls from the top of a vehicle can be fatal for a child.

It's not a playground.
Avoid letting the driveway be a "playground". If children are allowed to play in the driveway, let them do it when no cars are present. Place a barricade at the end of the driveway. Separate the driveway from the street so the children will know that the street is not an acceptable place to play.

Get out and look.
Before backing out of the driveway, physically look around and under the car. Be sure to know the location of each child before starting the vehicle.

Look, listen and stop if needed.
Look behind the vehicle as you back slowly out of the driveway. Put the window down so that you can listen for children. Be prepared to stop immediately.

Turn it off and lock the door.
Children will want to emulate parents and adults. Turn the ignition off to keep children from moving the vehicle. Even when in the garage or driveway, keep the doors locked. This will keep the children from playing inside the vehicle.

Keeping children safe in the driveway is the number one way to avoid non-occupant, off-road fatalities. Take these simple steps to keep more children from being killed by cars. Teach the children in your life to take care around all vehicles.

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