Gauging Usage Although NHTSA sets na-
Technology can now tell bus drivers what students are not buckled up.
quired on the buses, yet they are rarely used. But seatbelts aren’t required across Ohio and they would be used by students daily. “Ohio districts risk unlimited compensa- tory damage awards for student injuries. Yes, school bus catastrophes like the Chattanooga [Tennessee] crash are, thankfully, a rare event, but it costs very little over the life of the bus to have lap/shoulder belts,” said Breglia. He calculated that seatbelts account for about 8 percent
of the cost of a $90,000 bus, which over a 15-year life span would cost about $0.03 per student, per day. “For that price, depriving students of seatbelts doesn’t
make sense,” he added, “especially combined with the possibility of lower insurance rates and the potential for lawsuits.”
tional standards for school bus safety and requires three- point seatbelts on school buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds, it allows individual states to decide whether to require them on larger school buses. Only five states (Califor- nia, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, and Texas) have adopted the lap/shoulder seatbelt standard for larger buses. It may be up to individual districts to decide if the students are required to wear them. In Connecticut, for
example, HB 5462 that would have required all school buses to have three-point seatbelts, died in the Appropri- ations Committee. Already, Arkansas has a law requiring usage, if the three-point belts are installed. Before 1992, when licensing requirements for driving
larger vehicles varied from state to state, there was a lack of standardized training that resulted in many prevent- able traffic accidents and deaths. Many organizations, such as the National Association of State Directors of Pu- pil Transportation Services and National Transportation Safety Board, support the development of guidelines for the use and proper training on lap belts and lap/shoul- der belts, to reduce the severity of injuries and deaths in school bus crashes.
40% of operations say they have lap/shoulder seatbelts installed on their
school buses. (Out of 121 responses.)
36% Average percent of district fleets that are operating with lap/shoulder seatbelts.
(Out of 48 respondents who have lap/shoulder seatbelts installed.)
68% of districts have policies mandating students use lap/shoulder belts.
(Out of 47 respondents who have lap/shoulder seatbelts installed.)
Do school bus drivers face liability concerns if students don’t wear their seatbelts?
64% No 21% yes
15% I don’t know (Out of 47 respondents who have lap/shoulder seatbelts installed.)
85% of districts say students are trained in proper seatbelt use.
(Out of 48 respondents who have lap/shoulder seatbelts installed.)
50 School Transportation News • MAY 2021
PHOTO CREDIT: FREEDMAN SEATING/INTERMOTIVE
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