The seat belt proposal is in response to a school bus crash on Jan. 9 in which a 16-year-old high school student was killed. The fatality was the first in the state over last 40 years, according to Robin Leeds, an industry specialist with the National School Transportation Association and a former executive director for the Connecticut School Bus Operator's Association. Both organizations represent interests of private school bus companies.

When asked if they thought the current state legislature proposal to require seat belts in school buses was a good idea, 73 percent answered in the affirmative compared to only 20 percent who said the proposal was a bad idea. Another 7 percent responded that they did not know either way. The total responses mirrored those of voters who have children attending public schools, the slight difference being that 22 percent responded that school bus seat belts are a bad idea and 5 percent answered that they did not know.

The Quinnipiac University survey shows that the issue of school bus seat belts crosses political party lines and demographics, as 81 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Independents and 64 percent of Republicans favor a requirement.  It also found that women support school bus seat belts by a 79 to 14 percent margin, and men support it by a 66 to 27 percent margin.

The survey was conducted from Jan. 14 through 19 and polled 1,594 registered voters in the state. The sampling size margin of error isplus or minus 2.5 percentage points. In addition to the school bus question, the majority of the survey centered on the state's upcoming governor and attorney general elections.