School bus crash, 3 dead in Alabama.

[chernmax]

My heart went up to my throat when I first saw it on the news, tragic, those poor families and so close to the holidays...

 

[itsbob]

http://forums.somd.com/showthread.php?t=88259

I must of put this in the wrong place...

 

[itsbob]

Seatbelts and the bus, right off I see these questions/concerns popping into the mix. Who will see to it that each and every child is properly belted in with the belt adjusted properly? Will booster seats be provided for those of below average size? How many more busses will be needed since we can only fit two to a seat and anything beyond that would probably be illegal?

Now maybe they can do something like they do for rollercoaster rides that secure the rider to the seat but a standard seatbelt doesn't seem practical to me and then there are the roll over accidents or the ones where vehicles go into the water. Real scary stuff when one is belted into a seat.

Almost as silly as a law requiring my car that carries ONE child to have seat belts.. while a bus that carries 60 doesn't..

Just think, all the misbehavior, kids acting up, and children walking in the aisles of the bus will be gone too. Seatbelts with a mirror above each seat so the driver can just look in his/her mirror and see everyone is buckled.. seatbelts are what $10 apiece.. bolts to bolt them to the floor? $.50 so another $10.50 per seat per bus.. how much does a bus cost?? Instead of $60,000 it will now cost $60,630.. oh I forgot the labor.. Lets see, most busses are built in mexico, so another $.05 per seat.. so $60,603 per bus.

 

[Ken King]

Almost as silly as a law requiring my car that carries ONE child to have seat belts.. while a bus that carries 60 doesn't..

Just think, all the misbehavior, kids acting up, and children walking in the aisles of the bus will be gone too. Seatbelts with a mirror above each seat so the driver can just look in his/her mirror and see everyone is buckled.. seatbelts are what $10 apiece.. bolts to bolt them to the floor? $.50 so another $10.50 per seat per bus.. how much does a bus cost?? Instead of $60,000 it will now cost $60,630.. oh I forgot the labor.. Lets see, most busses are built in mexico, so another $.05 per seat.. so $60,603 per bus.

Yeah and the one kid injured after mandatory seatbelts are required on these busses whose parents sue the school district because no one made the little one use it correctly - $50,000,000.

 

[rack'm]

My heart went up to my throat when I first saw it on the news, tragic, those poor families and so close to the holidays...

Yea.........the return counter will be busy early this year.

 

[KingFish]

Very Sad.

 

[itsbob]

Yeah and the one kid injured after mandatory seatbelts are required on these busses whose parents sue the school district because no one made the little one use it correctly - $50,000,000.

How many lawsuits do you think are going to come from this accident? At least three I'd say.. probably closer to 40..

Not safely transporting my children.. no seatbelts to secure them in their seats.. etc.. etc..

 

[MMDad]

Reason number one that my child will not be riding the bus.

Of the 800 children killed going to and from school every year, 77% are in private vehicles, 22% walking or biking, and 2% in buses. Please reconsider.

 

[Ken King]

How many lawsuits do you think are going to come from this accident? At least three I'd say.. probably closer to 40..

Not safely transporting my children.. no seatbelts to secure them in their seats.. etc.. etc..

And the reason as you allege would be negligence, on whose part? The one that caused the accident or on the government for not requiring the seatbelts on the bus?

I suspect that for the driver that caused the wreck the suits will be massive and the insurance (if any) will only cover a fraction and the rest will go unobtained even if the victims and their families get a judgement.

Now had belts been required, installed and not assured that they were properly used then the school district would be the one facing the suits.

Maybe bubble-wrapping the little darlings before placing them on a bus is the only way to go as long as we rely upon them to transport the children.

 

[itsbob]

Of the 800 children killed going to and from school every year, 77% are in private vehicles, 22% walking or biking, and 2% in buses. Please reconsider.

Well, aren't our school busses in St Mary's considered Private Vehicles??
They are all privately owned...

 

[itsbob]

I know I'm splitting hairs here.. but in Ken Kings instance St Mary's School District is basically protected because the school busses have nothing to do with the schools or county gov't.. They are privatley owned conveyances.. if you look by the front of the bus by the drivers side you can see who owns them.. Private citizens, individuals..

 

[Ken King]

I know I'm splitting hairs here.. but in Ken Kings instance St Mary's School District is basically protected because the school busses have nothing to do with the schools or county gov't.. They are privatley owned conveyances.. if you look by the front of the bus by the drivers side you can see who owns them.. Private citizens, individuals..

They are contracted by the government to provide a service, as such the government still shares liability, right?

 

[itsbob]

They are contracted by the government to provide a service, as such the government still shares liability, right?

Not a lawyer, but I'd bet if something happened on a bus here, that ended up in court, the liability and risk has been passed on to the bus owner. Of course the lawyers are going to gun for the Gov't, Deeper Pockets Law...

 

[Lugnut]

The NTSB has pushed for seatbelts for years, but it is too expensive. Imagine making a seatbelt that will correctly fit anyone from 4 to 18 without someone to spend 5 minutes strapping them in.

You mean like the lap belts on airplanes? No imagination necessary.

 

[chernmax]

You mean like the lap belts on airplanes? No imagination necessary.

LOL, Well you shut that down quickly...

 

[Nickel]

Of the 800 children killed going to and from school every year, 77% are in private vehicles, 22% walking or biking, and 2% in buses. Please reconsider.

Nope. We live less than three miles from his school, and I am able to pick him up/drop him off, so I will.

 

[ashliekay711]

Why do either? Rig every home/apartment, etc. with highspeed internet, a computer or two, network cameras, and do virtual schooling and then the little darlings would never have to leave the house and we could probably eliminate numerous teaching positions too.

then well see how many insane mothers we have from them being home all day with the kids

 

[Ken King]

then well see how many insane mothers we have from them being home all day with the kids

Yeah, I suspect it would impact some unstable folk but there wouldn't be any need for these dangerous busses anymore.

 

[MMDad]

You mean like the lap belts on airplanes? No imagination necessary.

According to NHTSA, lap belts cause greater injuries on school buses. When a person is thrown forward, their entire body absorbs the impact with the seat in front of them. If there is only a lap belt the face hits the seatback, causing a violent deflection of the neck backwards and breaks the neck.

Seatbelts in airplanes protect you from flying up when you take negative G's. They are not effective in the type of crash a school bus would experience. That's why you assume the crash position - to make up for the top of your body being unrestrained.

The only way to effectively restrain someone in a bus is to use lap AND shoulder belts. That's where the expense and difficulty comes in.

Our friends on the left coast are now requiring restraints. It'll be interesting to see how that goes, and if it goes national.

 

[donbarzini]

They are contracted by the government to provide a service, as such the government still shares liability, right?

Absolutely right, sir!