Seat Belts On School Buses

[kom526]

Originally Posted by rockymavia

Maybe they can come up with some type of lap bar that comes down almost like a roller coaster ride. This whole idea is going to need alot of thought and effort before anything can be put in place if anything can.

Then again if there is a rollover how are the children (some as young as 4) going to be able to extricate themselves? If a 40lb 5 year old is sitting next to their 100lb 5th grade brother, will they be equally secure? Once again, do YOU want to pay for all these upgrades? I really don't need any help spending my money, I have a wife for that.

[MMDad]

Originally Posted by rockymavia

Interesting, maybe you could be one of the designers(not trying to be smart) you seem to be technically savy.

It's already been designed. This isn't a new idea. We (Maryland) are just a little late to the game.

[CalifrniaDreamn]

[quote=kom526;2846263]Where pray tell, is this money going to come from? To retrofit the seats with seatbelts is going to cost according to some estimates, between $1000-$7000 per bus. Then you are going to need a monitor (more money) to make sure that the kids are buckled in and to help buckle them in.




People always make this kind of remark. Many school districts are now requiring that all NEW buses have seat belts. And as for keeping the kids buckled, it's just a requirement of being on the bus. The kind of thing that can get them in trouble if it is clear they are NOT buckled.

I'm sure similar arguments were made when automobile makers were required to start putting seatbelts in cars!

[rockymavia]

Originally Posted by kom526

Then again if there is a rollover how are the children (some as young as 4) going to be able to extricate themselves? If a 40lb 5 year old is sitting next to their 100lb 5th grade brother, will they be equally secure? Once again, do YOU want to pay for all these upgrades? I really don't need any help spending my money, I have a wife for that.

If it comes to the safety of our children, sure id kick in a few extra $. Maybe they could come up with individual bar laps ? 2per seat but then theres a problem when theres an over crowded bus.

[kom526]

Originally Posted by Christy

I don't care one way or the other if there are seatbelts on school busses. BUT, I do find it incredibly contradictory to have seatbelt laws in place and people melting down every single time they see a kid not belted up in their family vehicle. It is after all, about the "safety of our children". Isn't it?

I think vehicle design plays a larger role in this debate than people are willing to admit.

I refer you to what MMDad stated:

We'd need seatbelts that fit a child from 4 to 18 years old. We'd also need an aide to belt the young ones. It can be done, but it's $$$$$.

The design of school buses is actually pretty safe as they are. The design of the seats absorb impacts, and they keep the kids compartmentalized and safe in most accidents.

If you look at crash data, it's rare that a seatbelt would have helped in a school bus crash. Most crashes are bus vs. car, and the bus wins. The bad ones are bus vs. dump truck, semi, or train, and there isn't a lot that can be done with forces that large.

As for the crash yesterday, there were two people on that bus. The one without a seatbelt was transported with minor injuries. The one with a seatbelt was flown out with serious injuries. Don't let the dramatic pictures cloud your judgement.

As for the comment that the kids should ba as safe in the bus as they are in the family minivan, once again look at crash data. Buses are already orders of magnitude safer than the minivan.
Today 10:07 AM

[MMDad]

Originally Posted by rockymavia

If it comes to the safety of our children, sure id kick in a few extra $.

I would be happy to kick in extra $$$ if data showed they'd actually be safer, and there was a real and present danger to fix.

The biggest danger to the kids isn't lack of seatbelts, it's driver error. I'd rather we work on that.

[jenbengen]

Originally Posted by PsyOps

Actually that's not really the issue about seatbeats on school busses. The issue is, when there's an accident and 30 kids are trapped in their seatbeats and can't get out of a flaming bus. Who's going to get all of them out? The belts can also become choking hazzards.

Exactly. This has been a long standing debate for a long time. Turns out they felt it was safer than having them on.

[rockymavia]

Originally Posted by MMDad

I would be happy to kick in extra $$$ if data showed they'd actually be safer, and there was a real and present danger to fix.

The biggest danger to the kids isn't lack of seatbelts, it's driver error. I'd rather we work on that.

True, and no matter how hard they try there isnt going to be a full flaw free system.

[PsyOps]

Originally Posted by rockymavia

Maybe they can come up with some type of lap bar that comes down almost like a roller coaster ride. This whole idea is going to need alot of thought and effort before anything can be put in place if anything can.

This is really something that has been studied for years and the best answer they always come up with is no seatbelts. There is no safe way of getting kids off a bus when they are strapped or pinned in. The lap bar could malfunction or get damaged not allowing the driver or aid to disable it to free the kids from it.

The other side of this is liability. If a kid dies because the driver could get them off the bus the county will have a huge lawsuit. You know how that goes.

[rockymavia]

Originally Posted by PsyOps

This is really something that has been studied for years and the best answer they always come up with is no seatbelts. There is no safe way of getting kids off a bus when they are strapped or pinned in. The lap bar could malfunction or get damaged not allowing the driver or aid to disable it to free the kids from it.

The other side of this is liability. If a kid dies because the driver could get them off the bus the county will have a huge lawsuit. You know how that goes.

Yup no matter how hard one tries there is no sure fire answer I can see that is 100% effective.