DRIVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1991
Protection in School Buses,” three-point lap/shoulder belts became the preferred solution, federally mandated for Type A small buses and optional (with guidelines) for large buses, as of Oct.. 21, 2011. Six states require occupant restraint systems on large school buses:
California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Texas. Lo- cal school districts elsewhere may voluntarily require three-point belts on school buses over the 10,000-pound GVWR threshold. Inconsistency has resulted. California and Texas mandated three- point belts on large school buses after guidelines and technology were launched. California requires usage, but the Texas Legislature has yet to provide the funds school districts require. Florida, New Jersey and New York mandated “seat belts” before the introduction of federal guidelines and advanced seating technology, which resulted in hotly contested two-point lap belts as the on-board choice for large buses. Meanwhile, the Louisiana State Legislature has also failed to fund the state's law requiring two-point belts
POSITIONS AND PUSH BACK
NHTSA denied a 2011 petition seeking a federal requirement for lap/shoulder seat belts on large school buses. Trade organizations dis- agree whether things are spelled out well enough for large bus man- dates, leaving voluntary states and school districts a lot to consider. Several factors feed into the concern: safety value of two-point vs.
three-point belts; technical standards; large bus crash testing; com- partmentalization; equipment cost; rider capacity; liability; student behavior; and the concern that the belts may be used as weapons. Tere’s also considerable discussion about proper training for evacua-
tion, especially in a rollover and side-impact accidents. NASDPTS first released its position in 2002, and in February
revised it to fully support lap-shoulder belts in school buses. De- pending on local need and resources, NASDPTS encouraged states and districts to consider lap/shoulder belts for all buses. Te group also believes, not unanimously, in mandatory usage policies, along with necessary training. It’s working on sample policies and training programs for proper usage and evacuation. “A number of very respected industry individuals think our paper
will be the go-to document that finally turns the tide on this debate,” said NASDPTS President Max Christensen. “Whether the paper will actually tip the balance in favor of lap/shoulder belts remains to be seen.” NAPT and NSTA have jointly gone on record in opposition, pointing to recent NTSB crash reports, and the fact that there is no NHTSA requirement for safety belts in large school buses. Tey fear confusion of conflicting policy between two federal safety agen- cies, which could lead to counter-productivity in improving safety. “It’s imperative that the federal government do the necessary re-
search before we move forward with any mandatory change. We’ve been saying for a very long time that research is imperative. To our knowledge, it hasn’t been conducted yet,” said NAPT Executive Director Mike Martin.
REAL-WORLD DISRUPTION School districts are answering the questions with real-world
experience. Te challenges for Pam McDonald, director of transpor- tation at Orange (Calif.) Unified School District, involve parents and
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