So, a lot of press about school bus passing.....

[glhs837]

Bur, oddly enough, not one mention of the much ballyhooed camera program. I wonder why, during a discussion about vehicles passing school buses and how dangerous it is, why a deterrant program that's been around two years was not mentioned?

Makes me wonder even more if perhaps the program didnt work out as planned.

 

[Monello]

And still no seat belts on school buses.

 

[glhs837]

Well, when you do the math, the amount of kids killed because there are no seat belts is silly low. Same for the kids hit by someone passing the school bus. But unlike a passing car, that has no upside, not having belts actually does, in case of a fast evacuation like the recent school bus fire, where the driver was able to quickly get all the kids off the bus.

Since 2004, NHTSA found, 106 people overall, both children and adults, have been killed while riding in or driving a school bus. Of the 106 people killed, 61 were passengers and 45 were drivers.

That works out to about six passenger fatalities per year, said Ryan Gray, editor in chief of School Transportation News, an industry trade publication. Considering about 480,000 school buses cover an estimated 10 billion miles per year, on average, he said, "It shows you how rare the fatalities are

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/15/school-bus-safety-statistics/72318198/

Large school buses are heavier and distribute crash forces differently than do passenger cars and light trucks. Because of these differences, the crash forces experienced by occupants of buses are much less than that experienced by occupants of passenger cars, light trucks or vans. NHTSA decided that the best way to provide crash protection to passengers of large school buses is through a concept called “compartmentalization.” This requires that the interior of large buses provide occupant protection such that children are protected without the need to buckle-up. Through compartmentalization, occupant crash protection is provided by a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs.

Small school buses (with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less) must be equipped with lap and/or lap/shoulder belts at all designated seating positions. Since the sizes and weights of small school buses are closer to those of passenger cars and trucks, seat belts in those vehicles are necessary to provide occupant protection.

School bus crash data show that compartmentalization has been effective at protecting school bus passengers. NHTSA’s 2002 Report to Congress[1] found that the addition of lap belts did not improve occupant protection for the severe frontal impacts that were studied for that report.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Seat+Belts/Seat+Belts+on+School+Buses+--+May+2006

But I asked about the cameras because I thought it was odd when the Sheriff announced it. Plan was that the company that installed them and operated them would keep 100% of the money until the system was paid off. What happened then was not talked about. I read once that these systems were a loss leader sort for thing for ATS, the vendor. They didn't really care if they made a profit on them, but they would act as a foot in the door. Getting citizens and govt used to camera based enforcement, which they could then use to leverage the introduction of the profitable RLCs and speed cameras. And it seemed odd that with all the talk about cars passing school buses, nobody, not even the county official charged with school bus safety, feels like mentioning a system that was supposed to act as a deterrent.