“The words I’ve heard the most in the 12 years I’ve been in the profession— after ‘I need it yesterday’—are ‘little Houdini’s.’ They’re the children who can escape from anything,” Anneken said. “Regular safety vests and the ones that are more difficult to escape from are definitely different. The securement of the child is more complex, so the child has a harder time figuring it out.” She pointed out that only a fraction of students are the most-gifted
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escape artists, but because the more secure models are readily available, Easy Way is selling more of them every month. No matter what type of restraint system is used, Anneken agreed that comfort is a must. “If they’re not comfortable, a kid will rebel every time,” she stressed. Manary echoed Anneken’s sentiment about balancing securement with
comfort. “(The school bus ride) is how they start their day and end the day. It makes a big difference for kids,” she said. Kennington said comfort and safety can be compromised when drivers neglect to take an extra few seconds to properly secure a restraint system to meet each child’s individual needs. “You may have multiple kids using a restraint (at different times), and the driver finds what they think is a happy medium, so they don’t have to make adjustments all the time,” he explained. “They’ve been doing that for several months or years and never had any issues. But they just haven’t had that wreck yet to show that it is not right.”
Rich Straw National Sales Manager
Ensuring the Proper Equipment It’s not enough to train drivers and bus attendants. Mechanics need to
also understand FMVSS 209 and FMVSS 213 standards for seat belt as- semblies and child restraint systems, respectively. “They can go down to the local auto store and get a loop belt and loop it on the frame, but that doesn’t meet standards,” Kennington said. “They need to have the training to ensure it’s the proper equipment to use and that they install it correctly.” A big item on the training list is a solid understanding of WC19, the
industry’s voluntary standards for wheelchairs that are crash tested to be used as seats in motor vehicles, said Manary. Her work focuses on bio- mechanics and human-factors research for the automotive industry. “Consumers need to know if you get a wheelchair that complies with WC19, it will have features that make it safer and easier to use in a vehicle,” she explained. WC19-compliant wheelchairs are designed to make securement quick and simple, making them easier to use in school vehicles. “Sometimes with tie-down straps, there’s confusion about what’s part of the actual wheelchair structure and what’s a weaker or detachable part you don’t want to hook to,” she added. In particular, WC19-compliant wheelchairs have designated spots with standard geometry that are marked with a hook symbol, she continued. “There are a minimum of four securement points on the wheelchair. One issue we see in the field with some wheelchairs is that it’s difficult to get to securement points,” said Manary. “WC19 tests how quickly someone can hook tie-down straps. To comply with the standard, it must be possible to secure the wheelchair in under 10 seconds.” WC19-compliant wheelchairs are also rated for lateral stability, which
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46 School Transportation News • MARCH 2019
increases user comfort. Most importantly, they also ensure a better and easier fit with shoulder and lap belts, which reduces injuries in the event of an accident. “When we first wrote WC19, it was limited to kids over 50 pounds, be-
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