In the 1987 legislation that requested the National Academy of Sciences to study the causes of school bus accidents and to evaluate measures that might reduce the deaths and injuries resulting from such accidents, one measure was specifically cited: seat belts.

    The use of seat belts on school buses has been widely debated in recent years. The state of New York now requires that all school buses manufactured after June 30, 1987, and operated within its jurisdiction be equipped with seat belts (New York Laws 1986).

    Federal regulations do not currently require that passenger seats in school buses with GVWRs greater than 10,000 lbs. be equipped with seat belts. NHTSA (1985, 1), the federal agency that has the authority to issue regulations for new motor vehicles, continues to believe that the occupant protection required in school buses manufactured after April 1, 1977, plus the inherent safety of a highly recognizable vehicle that travels on a regular route, provide a high level of safety.

    In view of the effectiveness of the current safety standards, and the excellent safety record of school buses generally, we do not believe that a Federal requirement for safety belts in large school buses is warranted.

    Small, van-type school buses (under 10,000 pounds gross weight) are required to have safety belts for all occupants as standard equipment. The agency believes that safety belts are necessary and effective in providing occupant protection in those vehicles because of their similarity to cars, and we encourage all passengers to wear their belts whenever the vehicles are in motion.

    It is important to emphasize that the Federal standards specify the minimum safety requirements applicable to school buses. Nothing prohibits a State or local jurisdiction from purchasing buses equipped with safety belts. [Emphasis added.]

    Following a series of school bus crash tests conducted by Transport Canada, the Canadian government concluded in January 1985 that in frontal collisions, post-1977 school buses (i.e., buses manufactured after April 1, 1977) provide good occupant protection and that the use of seat belts may result in more severe head and neck injuries to passengers (Farr 1985, 7). After conducting in-depth investigations of 43 accidents involving post-1977 school buses with GVWRs greater than 10,000 lb, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded in March 1987 that the use of seat belts would probably not have reduced the fatalities or the severe injuries observed in its study (NTSB 1987, 98). Neither the Canadian government nor NTSB believes that seat belts (i.e., lap belts) are warranted on post -1977 buses. Of the organizations that have considered the use of seat belts on school buses, the National Safety Council (NSC) supports NHTSA's position, as did the 1985 National School Bus Standards Conference (NSC 1986, NSBSC 1985).

    Many other organizations believe that post-1977 school buses should be equipped with seat belts to maximize occupant protection. Among the organizations advocating the installation of seat belts in buses with GVWRs greater than 10,000 lb are the following:

• American Medical Association (AMA 1987)2
• Physicians for Automotive Safety (PAS 1980)
• National Coalition for Seatbelts on School Buses (NCSSB)
  (presentation by Nancy Bauder, President of NCSSB, to the Committee on the
  Study to Identify Measures That May Improve the Safety of School Bus Transportation)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP 1984)
• Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM 1985)
• American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP 1987).3

    Advocates of seat belts in school buses offer the following arguments in support of seat belt regulations.

1. If a crash should occur, the use of seat belts will reduce the probability of death (and the severity of injuries) to children correctly seated in post-1977 buses. Furthermore, the use of seat belts may keep children in their seats and thereby further reduce deaths of and injuries to "out-of-position" passengers, for example, children who may have put their head or arms outside the window or children who are out of their seats when a collision occurs.

2. Seat-belt use will improve passenger behavior and reduce driver distractions. Reductions in driver distractions may translate into accidents avoided.

3. Use of seat belts in school buses will have a "carryover" effect- children will be encouraged to use seat belts when riding in other vehicles.

4. The cost of installing lap belts in buses is minimal, no more than $1,000 to $2,000 per bus.

    Others raise several objections to a policy that requires belts to be installed on all new buses.

1. School bus collisions that result in deaths or serious injuries to passengers are often catastrophic accidents that involve tractor trailer trucks, trains, massive fixed objects, and so forth. In these accidents seat belts are of little or no benefit and, in some cases (e.g., fires), they may be harmful. In less catastrophic accidents, current standards (post-1977) provide adequate school bus passenger protection.

2. Installation of seat belts in school buses does not guarantee seat belt use. If seat belts are not used, they cannot reduce deaths and injuries if a collision occurs. If drivers are required to ensure that the seat belts of all children are correctly buckled, driver distractions will increase.

3. If drivers do not insist that children use their belts, then any potential carryover effect of using seat belts in buses will be lost. Indeed, if children ride unbelted in belt-equipped buses, the message they learn, and the behavior they carry over to a passenger car, will be harmful.

4. Finally, because the safety record of school buses is already good, deaths and injuries to school bus passengers are rare. Spending $1,000 to $2,000 per bus for seat belts would not be cost effective; that is, the money could be better spent on other safety measures. Source: NAS Report 222, pgs. 12-14

Executive Summary (pps. 2-3)
    If all large, Type I school buses operated in the United States were equipped with seat belts, one life might be saved and several dozen serious injuries avoided each year. On the basis of this estimate, the committee concludes that the overall potential benefit of requiring seat belts in large school buses is insufficient to justify a federal standard mandating installation. The funds used to purchase and maintain seat belts in the nation's fleet of school buses-more than $40 million/yr-might better be spent on other school bus safety programs and devices to save more lives and reduce more injuries. Most members of the committee believe, therefore, that states and local school districts should not be encouraged to equip new buses with seat belts. Nevertheless, some members believe that a uniform occupant-restraint policy for all motor vehicles is important enough that states and local school districts should be encouraged to equip new school buses with seat belts.

    States and local school districts that choose to require seat belts in buses must ensure that all school bus passengers wear them and wear them correctly. Any program to require the use of seat belts on school buses can be effective only if it has the support of the school board, school administrators, teachers, parents, and school bus drivers.

    Finally, retrofitting any large school bus with seat belts can present problems. On pre-1977 school buses, seat belts used in conjunction with the lower, less-padded seat backs typical of those buses might actually increase the severity of injuries. Consequently, seat belts should not be installed on buses that were manufactured before April 1, 1977. For post-1977 buses, retrofitting with seat belts is more complicated and costly than installing seat belts at the factory as original equipment, and therefore is generally not recommended.

Conclusions and Recommendations (pgs. 148-149)
    Large, Type I school buses [i.e., buses with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs) greater than 10,000 lb] currently manufactured for sale in the United States are not required to be equipped with seat belts (i.e., lap belts). New York State now requires that large buses purchased for use within its jurisdiction be equipped with seat belts; Michigan has adopted regulations that discourage local school districts from installing seat belts on school buses. Advocates of seat belts claim that lives would be saved and injuries avoided if seat belts were standard equipment on school buses and if policies were established to ensure their use. Opponents claim that seat belts are costly, would offer little or no additional occupant protection, and might even increase injuries in some crashes.

    The committee concludes that the use of seat belts on large, post-1977 school buses may reduce the likelihood of death or serious injury to school bus passengers by up to 20 percent. If all large school buses were equipped with seat belts and students used them 50 percent of the time on average, one life might be saved, and several dozen serious injuries might be avoided each year.

     The committee further concludes that the overall potential benefits of requiring seat belts on large school buses are insufficient to justify a federal requirement for mandatory installation. The funds used to purchase and maintain seat belts might better be spent on other school bus safety programs and devices that could save more lives and reduce more injuries (e.g., purchasing buses with higher seat backs and stop signal arms). Most members of the committee believe, therefore, that states and local school districts should not be encouraged to equip new buses with seat belts. Nevertheless, some members of the committee believe that a consistent occupant-restraint policy for all motor vehicles is important enough that states and local school districts should be encouraged to equip new school buses with seat belts.

     States and local school districts that require seat belts on school buses must ensure not only that all school bus passengers wear the belts, but that they wear them correctly. Research suggests that any program to require the use of seat belts on school buses can be effective only if it has the support of the school board, school administrators, teachers, parents, and school bus drivers. With this support it is easier to teach children to wear seat belts correctly, and they will be more willing to comply with the requirement that they wear them.

     It may be necessary at first to assist young children in tightening and buckling seat belts. Such assistance might be provided by adult monitors or responsible older children.

     Current federal standards that describe how seat belts should be installed on school bus passenger seats [Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 209, Seat Belt Assemblies, and FMVSS 210, Seat Belt Assembly Anchorage] apply only to school buses with GVWRs of 10,000 lb or less. These standards should be modified to include school buses with GVWRs greater than 10,000 lb.

    Finally, retrofitting any large school bus with seat belts can present problems. On pre-1977 school buses, seat belts used in conjunction with the lower, less-padded seat backs typical of those buses might actually increase the severity of injuries. Consequently, seat belts should not be installed on buses that were manufactured before April 1, 1977, that is, before FMVSS 222, School Bus Seating and Crash Protection, went into effect. For post-1977 buses, retrofitting with seat belts usually requires strengthening of seat and floor structures and is therefore much more costly than installing seat belts at the factory as original equipment. The committee does not recommend retrofitting post-1977 buses unless those buses are already equipped with seats designed to accommodate belts.

Source: Improving School Bus Safety: Special Report 222,
Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.