Blue Bird made industry history in June 2024 as the first school bus OEM to announce lap/shoulder seatbelts as standard safety technology in all its vehicles.
17,000 injuries annually nationwide, with motor vehi- cle crash as the most frequent injury mechanism (42.3 percent) for all age groups. Injuries that occurred as the child was boarding, exiting or approaching the bus were almost half that amount at 23.8 percent. It also found that 97 percent of children were reported-
ly treated and released from the hospital. Children 10 to 14 years of age accounted for the greatest proportion of injuries, 43 percent, compared with all other age groups. More than half the injuries (52.1 percent) were head injuries in children younger than 10. Lower extremity injuries were more common among children 10 to 19 years of age. Strains and sprains accounted for the highest percentage of all inju- ries, followed by contusions, abrasions and lacerations. More than three-quarters of lacerations were to the head. “Although seatbelts have the potential to influence
some of the injuries in the 42.3 percent of cases involving motor vehicle crashes in this study, we were unable to determine whether seatbelts would have prevented these motor vehicle crash–related injuries because of lack of sufficient detail in the narratives,” the report states. There are no current plans to update the study on a
national scale. Meanwhile, Kinney’s California data remains the most
current regarding school bus injuries and the impact of lap/shouder seatbelts. In addition to requiring the restraints, the state has a required usage policy. The data compiled by Kinney looks at school bus crash and pas- senger injury data from the California Highway Patrol from 1994 through 2024, specifically focusing on the 20 years since lap/shoulder seatbelts became appearing incrementally on new California school buses.
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