Seatbelts
on School Buses
|
Webmaster Note: This statement was originally presented
at a hearing before the National Transportation Safety Board during
its investigation into the Palm Spring school bus accident. Presented
by Nancy Bauder, president of the National Coalition for School
Bus Safety (NCSBS), here comments were later developed by the NCSBS'
into the Coalition's official position on the issue of seat belts
on large school buses. The Position Paper is presented here in its
entirety. In
1994 the coalition went out of business and turned over most
of its documentation to the the Pupil Transportation Safety
Institute in Syracuse, N.Y. Users can reach the PTSI at 800/836-2210
or write: PTSI, 443 S. Warren St., Syracuse, NY 13202. Or, they
may visit the website of the revised National
Coalition for School Bus Safety, which was reactivated in
the fall of 1997. |
The
National Coalition for School Bus Safety (NCSBS) [formerly Known as
the National Coalition for Seatbelts on School Buses] coordinates the
efforts of people throughout t
he country working for school bus safety,
disseminates information through our fifty coordinators in the United
States, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. The NCSBS supports the
installation of safety belts on all newly-manufactured school buses,
improving driver training, pedestrian safety, as well as other safety
issues, such as overcrowding and evacuation. Providing school bus passengers
with added restraint protection also provides educational value which
may save lives in automobile collisions, the number one killer of children.
With
all states' passange of mandatory child restraint laws, parents demand
that the safety belt be provided to children on school buses (where
they ride from one to two hours per day, to school and on field trips)
both for their personal safety and the carryover benefit of that habit
to automobile usage. This habit should be encouraged, rather than hindered
by the school system.
Even
though many states have mandatory usage laws, we ourselves decide whether
or not to buckle up for safety. Most children do not have that choice
in a school bus. We parents, educators, physicians, and responsible
citizens are only asking that opportunity be provided.
THE SCHOOL BUS AS THE SAFEST VEHICLE?
The
School Bus has been called the 'safest' form of transportation by the
school bus industry. How safe is it? School bus injuries compare favorably
to all vehicle injuries, when one looks at information supplied by the
National Research Council. The figures are stated as approximately 9500
injuries and 10 fatalities per year inside buses and 500 injuries and
40 fatalities in the loading zone. These numbers do not usually include
collisions which occur on field trips or other outings or involve private
schools, even though they involve regular standard school buses. In
the Kentucky, 1989 crash, 27 passengers were killed. In Alton, Texas,
1990 crash, 29 passengers were killed. And on July 31, 1991, 7 passengers
were killed, 53 injured. All involved post-standard school buses, yet
none were included in national school bus statistics used by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The only way to accurately assess school bus statistics fairly would be to compare bus collisions to automobile collisions which occur during the hours of 7 to 9am and 2 to 4pm which is the time school buses usually run. Bus collisions should also be compared to automobile collisions which on a daily route. To compare bus collisions to and from school with other vehicle collisions that occur on the highway and at night (as most vehicle injuries and fatalities occur) is unrealistic.
What about compartmentalization?
In
1967, a major study on school bus construction and safety features was
conducted at University of California, Los Angeles. The term 'compartmentalization'
was first used in that study, and referred to a recommended 28 inch
high seat back and a padded side arm, and seat belts to reduce the injuries
sustained by passengers hurled against one another. Post standard buses
meet the federal requirement of 24 inches now required. Even with a
higher seat back it is a myth that compartmentalization provides sufficient
protection. There is still no protection from injury in a side or rollover
collision. We need to provide passengers a way to remain in the "compartment'
and in their seats during a collision.
In
1977, Federal standards of higher backed, padded seats and improved
bus structure were a step toward safer buses, and have indeed reduced
fatalities, but thousands of injuries to children in bus crashes continue
to occur every year. Injuries reported include minor: contusions, concussions,
abrasions, fractures, and lacerations to the head and extremities; and
major: abdominal injuries, head, neck, and back injuries, and amputations.
These injuries occur as students strike the roof, windows, seatbacks,
and other students. In addition to collisions and rollovers, passengers
are injured during sudden stops and turns and while hanging out of windows.
It is clear that seat belts will hold passengers in seats during stops,
turns, and evasive maneuvers, thus protecting them. Children belted
in place also have difficulty sticking their heads and arms out of windows.
Compartmentalization
is the most effective in the head-on collision. However, a crash in
Reno, Nevada, (1987) showed that compartmentalization does not always
work: 82 children were injured when a 90 passenger bus ran into another
bus at 30 miles per hour when the brakes failed. According to witness
reports, the children noticed the driver was having problems getting
the bus stopped, so they all stood up to see what was wrong. They were
out of the 'compartment' and bounced around the bus when the collision
occurred. This one crash utilized all the medical and emergency resources
in the entire community and tied up traffic for hours. According to
medical personnel, it is probable that the majority of these injuries
would not have occurred, had the passengers been restrained.
Liability and cost?
The
liability question is one that is always raised by school districts
considering requiring belts on school buses. Is the driver or district
liable if a passenger's belt is not fastened and he is injured? The
New York School Bus Safety Belt Law contains a clause to help absolve
liability in this instance.
Nationwide, there have been many lawsuits regarding bus-related injuries. Some of these suits have been filed because of lack of occupant restraints, and have netted the victims and their families hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The average cost of a school bus is around $40,000. The average cost of belt installation is approximately $1000 per bus. The cost of medical care resulting from one collision is often greater than the cost of belts for the entire fleet.
How
has this issue been studied?
UCLA
1967 Crash Test recommended: "all buses be equipped with restraint systems.Restraint
within the seat area is essential for injury minimization."
Transport
Canada School Bus Crash Test (Released, 1985): Head Injury Criteria
levels in belted crash test dummies in large school buses were lower
than those deemed by the Department of Transportation to cause serious
injury. The only dummy who "died" on the large school bus was unbelted.
The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1985: Safety Belts in
School Buses - "In side impact and rollover, the use of seat belts are
likely to provide additional safety."
Dr.
John States, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Chairman, Dept.
of Orthopedics, Rochester, NY (3/3/87): "My statements are based on
a lifetime experience as a practicing orthopedic surgeon, a researcher
in motor vehicle accidents and a designer of safety belt systems. My
own research and my knowledge of the traffic safety and biomechanics
literature reveals that safety belts in school buses will provide additional
crash protection particularly in side impact and rollover accidents.School
bus safety belts will reinforce the habit of safety belt use.
National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Feb. 1986, School Bus Safety
Belts: Their Use, Carryover Effects, and Administrative Issues: "Administrators,
transportation directors, and reported improved behavior on buses equipped
with belts.and experienced fewer distractions in belt-equipped buses
than in non-equipped vehicles."
K.
Weber, MA, and J. Melvin, PhD, University of Michigan College of Engineering
(1/23/86): "We firmly believe that newly purchased large school buses
should be equipped with lap belts."
Dr.
Arnold Siegel, Forensic Consultant, Trauma Research Group, Encino, CA
(10/2/86): "For school buses, the seat belt angles related to the pelvic
area of a child are close to ideal due to the seat design, the seat
height from the floor, and the location of the belts to the seat horizontal
frame bar."
M.
Spital, BA, A. Spital, MD, and R. Spital, PhD, from Community Services,
University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, and Columbia,
MD: Pediatrics (American Academy of Pediatrics Journal), 11/86: 'The
Compelling Case for Seat Belts on School Buses': "There is strong evidence
that seat belts would increase the safety of school buses."
The
National Transportation Safety Board School Bus Crash Study, March 1987.
After at least 13 prior recommendations for seat belts on school buses,
the NTSB now alleges that the post standard bus seats are adequately
protecting school bus passengers without seat belts. However, there
has not been any substantial reduction in injuries post-standard.' The
study of 43 hand-picked collisions showed no comparison between belted
and unbelted passengers. Only the 39 accidents involving unbelted buses
were evaluated.
The
National Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences
was commissioned by congress to conduct an eighteen-month study of school
bus safety. Findings include: "Seat (lap) belts.may reduce the likelihood
of death or injury to passengers involved in school bus crashes by up
to 20 percent." However, the added cost to equip all new buses nationwide
of $40 million would possibly only save one life and a few dozen serious
injuries.
Experience of districts
Discipline
generally improves when seat belts are on the bus. A study by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, February, 1986, showed improved
behavior in buses equipped with belts. All of the transportation directors
in the study, even those initially opposed to the trial belt programs,
supported decisions to equip their entire fleets with belts. The calmer
climate produced by seat belt usage allows drivers to concentrate better
on their driving and observe more carefully the students in the danger
zones outside the bus. The type of belts used have been a problem in
certain districts. Long black belts with removable buckles are not recommended
because vandalism, and tripping hazards. A shorter belt, color-coded,
with a safer, push-button buckle is recommended, and more readily used.
In the future?
More
districts add buses with belts each year for a variety of reasons. Some
districts now transport preschool children and are using belts for children
with child safety seats and without. Mildly handicapped students are
also sometimes being transported, belted, in larger buses in some districts.
NCSBS members have tried to get counts of buses with belts from state
transportation directors, but the ones contacted have not been able
to provide that information.
Saved by the belt?
Since
belted school bus passengers have shown few injuries in crashes, they
are usually not publicized by the media. And The National Transportation
Safety Board has studied few bus crashes where children are protected
by belts. The NCSBS Board asks members to contact them when there are
publicized crashes involving belted passengers in crashes.
September
30, 1988, Catalina Foothills, Arizona: After five years experience with
belt use in their full-sized buses, a bus lost control on a curve and
overturned at 25 mph. All 14 students were belted, none injured. (Source:
attached newspaper article)
January
16, 1990, St. Louis, Missouri: Charles Dougherty, MD, a St. Louis pediatrician,
came upon a bus crash scene and assisted the injured. His comments (see
copy of letter enclosed): "On January 16, 1990, I was involved with
the first aid and triaging of injured students at the site of a school
bus accident.In this accident, a bus skidded on slick pavement and rolled
onto its side. Fortunately, no one but the driver was critically injured,
but a number of the children received minor injuries, including on little
girl who had her ear sliced nearly in half. One interesting note. Evidently
the bus involved had one seatbelt, reserved for the child who was the
worst-behaved child. That child came up to me at the site.to point out
to me how he was one of the few children totally uninjured in the accident.
April
11, 1989, Allegany School District, New York: Seat belts were credited
with keeping 61 students from suffering serious injuries during a collision.
(See attached newspaper article)
June
7, 1991, Skokie, IL School District 68: a minivan ran head-on into the
driver's side of one of the district's buses with belted passengers.
Twenty students escaped injury, two received minor injuries.
A
Kansas City, Missouri bus crash on May 20, 1991, carrying belted preschoolers
underscores the need for seat belt installation on all new buses. Opponents
have said that children would be "trapped in their seats" in case of
a fire. The same argument was used years ago before belts were installed
in other vehicles. A Lincoln Continental struck the bus, which overturned,
slid into a tree, and caught fire. The newspaper article (attached)
spoke of the quick action of bystanders in helping get children off
the bus. However, Leanna Joyce, a television reporter on the scene stated
that the children unbuckled themselves and started evacuation through
the rear exit about the same time as the witnesses arrived to help.
Sixteen children were uninjured, one child was treated for a minor injury,
and the driver and monitor were treated for injuries. All occupants
were belted except the monitor.
Ironically,
in a nearly identical crash, on May 18 (see attached article), North
Carolina experiences one of its "worst school bus crashes in history"
as three teenage students died and the remaining 17 were injured. The
bus was hit broadside by a truck, overturned and struck a tree. Fortunately
the bus did not ignite, or there would have been many more fatalities.
"Rescuers worked for more than three hours using electric saws to free
bodies from the wreckage," according to the Charlotte Observer. At the
urging of parents in the district, school officials have considered
installing seat belts in buses for several years and this crash will
refuel this debate.
Conclusion
The
NCSBS cannot be an investigative organization. We are a network of people
trying to help each other achieve safer school transportation for our
children. It is our opinion that lap belts in school buses are better
than no belts at all, to keep passengers in their seats. Safety belt
education programs, available in all states, should be taught in schools,
and belt use should be required.
> National organizations supporting belts on school buses since 1985:
[Webmaster note: The original coalition went out of business for a few years in the early 1990s. It was revitalized in late 1997 under the leadership of Dr. Alan L. Ross, a dentist. Click here to visit the website of the Coalition.]
