California Implements Regulations for
Occupant Restraint Systems

SACRAMENTO , Calif. - The Department of Education released new regulations pertaining to the training of students to use passenger restraint systems that are required on all small school buses in the Golden State by this summer.

The state school board approved the guidelines on Nov. 9. The state became the seventh nationwide on July 1 to pass a law requiring the use of lap /shoulder belts for Type II, Type A or Type A-1 school buses containing 16 passengers or less. The passenger restraint systems are mandatory on all buses built, purchased and leased after July 1, 2004. All Type I large buses, or Type C or D, purchased or leased on or after July 1 of this year also fall under the new rule, said John Green , the state director of pupil transportation. Mandated seat belt usage remains absent from state law.

Assembly Bill 15 requiring the installation of three-point seat belts on school buses after Jan. 1, 2002 was passed in 1999. However, 2001 Senate Bill 568 delayed implementation. Both bills disallow state reimbursement to school districts and school bus contractors purchasing or leasing new school buses equipped with the required restraints.

"School districts have a finite amount of money that just barely pays for 15 buses," Green said, adding that the state's analysis of exactly how much the new law will cost entities purchasing and leasing new school buses is outdated. "You're talking about a school transportation system that is not mandated."

Of greater concern is ridership numbers. Green said schools face reducing the number of seat positions per row from three to two, resulting in a loss of one-thirds capacity and the need for adding - and paying for - more routes.

Still, seat belt proponents see the law as a victory.

"We see this as a good step forward. No one will become an object of a suit if a child doesn't use a belt," said Stephanie Trombello, executive director of the non-profit safety advocate SafetyBeltSafe USA. "We hope California school systems will mandate the use of the belts. It's going to protect those drivers. They want to do the right thing but they're not given the time to do it or the resources."

Title 5, Section 14105 of the California Code of Regulations specifically says all students riding school buses, including the School Pupil Activity Bus (SPAB), "shall be instructed in an age-appropriate manner" on the proper fastening and release of seat belts. The new code, which does not apply to special needs students or in cases of emergency evacuation, describes the appropriate positioning of the lap-shoulder belt snug across the shoulder and chest, away from the neck, and low and tight across the pelvis area, not the stomach.

When not in use, "passenger restraint systems shall be fully retracted into the retractors so that no loose webbing is visible, or stored in a safe manner per the school bus manufacturer's instructions."

Trombello praised the wording of the safety regulations, saying it "should open up a lot of opportunities for schools to do good things with their students in terms of education."