![]() ![]() The belt assembly has to be anchored to the floor. Nothing prevents a school district from adding seat belts to a bus made before 2005, but it can run between $5,000 and $20,000 per bus. However, modern cars are designed to absorb the blows and collapse, preserving only the vital seating area much like a race car and they all have three-point belts. Proponents of no-seat-belt buses say that this compartmentalization allows the bus to function like a carton of eggs, with each seating area a separate compartment. Of course, if the bus has a shoulder-lap seat belt like all cars, this pivoting problem does not exist. If he is belted only at the waist, many argue that he will pivot on the belt focusing the force of the blow on the head and neck. Ironically, if the child is not belted, his body is supposed to slide forward like throwing a fish in a frying pan as it impacts the seat ahead. ![]() If the bus comes to a sudden stop, the padded seat back supposedly absorbs the forward energy of the child seated behind it. The theory of compartmentalization is that the back of each seat is padded and a specific distance from the seat behind it. Again there is no evidence that this occurs in other vehicles and buses are much less likely to roll over because of their size and stability. Students might be trapped in an accident.This is wrong-headed too because nearly every student automatically buckles up in their parents’ cars, so why not in a school bus? Because of the number of students, it is impossible for the driver to police seat-belt compliance.But there is no evidence that such events occur in other vehicles. Students might use the belts as weapons injuring other students.The arguments which have been advanced against seat belts of any kind are: The real issue is not are school buses safer than other vehicles, but within the state of the art, can they be made safer and prevent the injury or death that may have occurred in specific litigation? This is like saying that safety locks on guns are not necessary because of the availability of gun safety courses. Their reasoning is school buses are much safer than other vehicles for a variety of reasons so it is not necessary. The National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) determined that there is insufficient reason for a federal mandate for seat belts on large school buses. There is nothing in the statute which prohibits liability based on negligence principles for failing to have belts to protect students. Since buses cost over $200,000 each and most school districts are pinching pennies all the time, it is very common for school buses to have no seat-belt protection at all. In California the law only applies to buses built after J(Veh. Five other states require only lap belts. California is the only state which requires school buses to have shoulder-lap seat belts. ![]()
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