Why No Seatbelts In School Bus?

Question

Just out of curiosity.. we have seat belts in pretty much everything i can think of.... even changing tables but we dont seem to have seat belts in school busess?

i mean i would thing there would be someone enforcing this. Not like it will be hard to put seatbelts in school bus all they have to do is buy the belts and bolt them on probably wont cost 5,000 per bus.

how many more accidents have to pass before they enforce this? kids flying off their seats? what are people waiting for?

Answer 1

On the one hand I agree with you. On the other, I remember school trips with hired coaches that had belts - and the kids didn't wear them anyway. People don't like spending money, also. I think to gain change in something like this, it would be better to raise awareness, sign petitions and even raise money within the local area or school, and you might see results, because if people think it will make a difference to *their* kids, they will put in for it.

Answer 2

They don't have seat belts when you use public transportation.

Answer 3

Its government funded, what would you expect?

Answer 4

Why no verb in question?  *Smile*  J/K

PROS: In a select few types of accidents the seat belts might prevent injuries. I stress MIGHT.

CONS: Not a short answer at all. If you really want to know more, read on...

I have 5 kids in school and, of course, I care about their safety on buses, so this is a topic and question that I have researched thoroughly over the past year mainly due to the numerous times it is asked about on this site. The following is what I have found.

Everyone tends to say the cost is the a main reason buses don't have belts. And while I agree funding could certainly be a factor, consider the following. 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 buses, lap belts alone can 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 can 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 heavy bus construction and compartmentalization 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 most school buses.

I know that isn't always the popular position, but it's what most of the facts support.

I hope that helps.

Answer 5

What state are you in? I am in NY and all school busses MUST have seat belts, it's the law. BUT the drivers can't make the kids wear them. So the kids trip on them and get hurt or worse yet they hit each other with them, that buckle hurts!

Answer 6

Compartmentalization, a concept seen frequently on commercial airplanes, involves seating passengers in rows of padded seats with cushioned backs.

The belief is that during frontal or rear impact, the most common types of wrecks involving school buses, passengers would either be pushed back into their seats or thrown forward into the padded backs of the row ahead.

The use of seat belts might require stiffer seats, which would negate the theory of compartmentalization. It is also feared that some students would receive internal injuries from seat belts through a process called submarining, the tendency for a body to slide downwards during impact.

Seat belts on school buses may also hamper rescue or evacuation efforts, as adults or older students may have to spend precious minutes unbuckling young or disoriented passengers.

Unruly students could also use the heavy buckles as makeshift weapons, creating even more of a safety hazard.

There is also the argument that seat belts would only protect passengers of school buses during unusual events such as roll-overs or flips, not other possible accidents such as fires or submersion.

Considering the expense of retrofitting current school buses or replacing entire fleets with approved seat belt systems, the benefits of seat belt use do not currently outweigh the liabilities.

One problem many school systems face with the prospect of mandatory seat belt use on school buses is compliance. The bus driver already has a significant amount of responsibility, so schools would have to hire additional monitors to ride on all the school buses. In light of sexual misconduct concerns, both male and female monitors would have to be hired in order to avoid any allegations of impropriety.

Besides the added expense of hiring qualified monitors, there would also be a question of liability if even one student removed his or her seat belt and became injured as a result.

Answer 7

I was wondering if we were going to maby get through a week without a seat belt on busses question. buses are kinda big with lots of flashing lights and special laws just for them. do accidents happen, sure and while there may be minor injuries, rarely is anyone killed. the cost has to be born by someone and it would be very expensive. plus each bus would have to have a seat belt cop on board.m be careful what you wish for

Answer 8

Im not going to restate what todvango said, as hes dead on.  Id like to add one more thing, there are only no seatbelts on the large school busses.  The smaller van sized school busses have seatbelts, because they arent large enough that serious injuries would be miminized.

Answer 9

millions and millions of miles of School Buss travel and no serious injury's and deaths.  Mostly do to how high the chassis is in the buss and the low speeds traveled. In a crash most cars get lodged under the frame of the buss and impact does not transfer to stop/change the buss motion. So go ahead add belts  three across seating each side would be replaced with two each side and why not shoulder harnesses and padded seat backs or protective air bags. Costs quickly escalate into the billions to retrofit and legislate the safety. Next thing have you ever seen anything government do that turned out as planned?