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No Seat Belt Requirement for School Buses

Belts offer 'marginal' benefits, safety czars decree

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 23, 2007

The new rules set performance standards for the restraints but make them optional on the familiar yellow bus, according to a spokesman for the Transportation Department.

A study last year found a higher incidence of school bus injuries than expected. Researchers said that from 2001 to 2003 there were an estimated 51,100 school bus-related injuries that resulted in treatment in an U.S. emergency room. That is about 17,000 injuries annually, many more than previously estimated.

More than half of all injuries among children younger than 10 were to the head, while lower extremity injuries predominated among children 10-to-19 years-old. Strains and sprains accounted for the highest percentage of all injuries, followed by contusions, abrasions and lacerations.

Marginal benefit

Transportation officials said there is some marginal benefit from the lap and belts but it is not significant enough to make the belts a requirement.

“Our proposed rule would make children safer, put parents at ease and give communities a clearer picture of how to protect students,” Transportation Secretary Peters said. “It’s never too late to learn, especially when it comes to protecting our children.”

After a 60-day public comment period, Peters will decide whether to adopt the rule changes or make alterations.

Peters said the proposed rules stop short of requiring restraints "because we want each school district to decide for themselves how best to protect their students."

For large buses, the proposed rule for the first time provides federal standards for seat belts for school districts that make the decision to add them.

An estimated 23.5 million children travel 4.3 billion miles on school buses in the United States each year.

Diesel fumes

Another recent study suggested that fumes from older diesel buses may be a bigger hazard than the risk of accidents.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reported last year that at least 30 percent of the nation's school buses, more than 500,000 vehicles, have been in use for more than a decade. One aging school bus can produce between twice and 10 times as much diesel soot as an 18-wheel rig, according to the report.

About 95 percent of the nation's school bus fleet is powered by diesel and high levels of diesel exhaust and soot expose children to higher risk of asthma, cancer and other significant health problems, according to the report.

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