SPECIAL REPORT
Transportation Director Journeys to the ‘Other Side’ on Seat Belt Issue
By Michelle Fisher Monica
Coburn of Bar-
tholomew Consolidated School Corporation in Columbus, Ind., is one of thousands of student transportation directors nation- wide who take great pride in their work and stand behind the yellow bus as the safest form of transpor- tation period. But roughly four years ago,
that period became a comma when Coburn began researching whether seat belts could make a difference during serious school bus accidents, saving more lives and preventing serious injuries. In 2008, Coburn said a series
of events changed her opinion about the need for seat belts on buses and compelled her to write a research paper on the controver- sial issue. She listened to parents advocating for seat-belt implementation at her state conference, visited bus seat manufacturer IMMI and saw the debut of its SafeGuard Flex seat with three-point belts at the NAPT Summit that year. “Just prior to attending that conference, I went to IMMI and
Students at Bartholomew (Ind.) Consolidated School Corporation buckle up on district buses after research found the restraints would not negatively affect passenger capacity.
they showed a video of what happens on the inside of a school bus during an accident. Tey showed me all different types of accidents, using crash dummies, and also video footage from a real-life accident showing how the kids flew out of their seats,” Coburn recalled. She noted that this new information caused her to question
the very arguments against seat belts she once used: Tey cost too much money, they reduce seating capacity and they can be used as a weapon. “Everyone wants to stand behind the fact that it’s not cost-
effective because the number of deaths is so low. But it struck me. Having the technology and capabilities we have today, how can we sit here and look parents in the eye who have either lost a child or their child lost an arm or a foot, and say, ‘I’m really sorry, but it’s just not cost-effective’?” she said.
DISCOUNTING ARGUMENTS AGAINST SEAT BELTS After taking a closer look at the new SafeGuard Flex Seat, she
38 School Transportation News Magazine October 2012
realized that its design dismantled two key anti-seat-belt argu- ments. First, it could accommodate three younger students to a seat, which meant transportation directors would not lose seating capacity. In addition, its seat within a seat design pro- duces a “ride-down” effect in an accident, minimizing the jolt and reducing trauma to the body from restraints. “I was impressed with the fact that you wouldn’t have to in-
crease your fleet and that it had retractors built inside the seat, so when a student takes off the belt, it retracts into the mecha- nism. Te children aren’t as likely to use the seat belt as a weapon and hit each other,” Coburn said. She added that this has yet to happen in the three years since
her school district began ordering buses equipped with three- point lap and shoulder belts. She pointed out that the first round of buses with SafeGuard seats cost about $10,000 more per bus, but since then the price deferential has dropped by 20 percent. Armed with research data and roused to action by the videos
she’d seen, Coburn embarked on a mission to change the mind- set of her drivers and school administrators. She met with the district’s transportation safety coordinator and convinced him they’d been wrong about seat belts. Tey visited their state rep- resentative, Milo Smith, and showed him the same video that had made such an impact on her. Rep. Smith has not moved
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