Parents See School Bus
Seat Belt Issue Differently

(Aug. 14, 2007) — Last month in the nation's capital, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held a public meeting to discuss passenger safety on school buses. It convened a panel of public and private school bus operators, the NTSB, Transport Canada, the American Association of Pediatrics, NSTA, NAPT, and school bus vehicle and product manufacturers. Namely, the topics centered on three-point, lap-shoulder seat belts vs. compartmentalization.

Reasons given for and against the restraint systems did little comfort the parents of a Beaumont, Texas, high school soccer player seriously injured last year when the chartered motorcoach that was transporting her team to a game swerved to avoid highway debris and rolled over. Two girls died, and several others were seriously injured.

The state recently passed a comprehensive lap/shoulder belt law for all student transportation provided in school buses and motorcoaches alike, with the Beaumont tragedy serving as the catalyst.

“I'm sorry. I want my child safe,” said Jeannette Forman, whose daughter has only partial use of her arm after it was crushed at the elbow when she was ejected and then pinned beneath the charter bus. “I will choose as a parent not to put my child on any vehicle without three-point restraints.”

Steve Forman told the assembly that his daughter has had six surgeries to return some movement to her fingers, and at least two more surgeries were necessary. Doctors amputated the arm of another teammate who suffered a similar injury.

“Accidents in school transportation are a reality, and statistics really don't mean a thing,” he added, giving rise to a call within the industry for increased public relations efforts to reach out to parents. “Parent perceptions are that school buses are unsafe in 2007. We know an unrestrained child is an unsafe child.”

He also expressed dismay that NHTSA did not seek the perspective of concerned parents on its safety panel. Federal representatives agreed that the general public is often confused over the perceived contradiction of school buses compared to passenger vehicles that are mandated at the federal level to have seat belts.

"I would respectfully disagree with the conclusion that parents feel the bus is unsafe," responded Fred Lenz, president of St. James Bus Service, Inc., located about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis. "NHTSA's figures of over 800 students who are killed nationally every year in alternate transportation should tell people that school bus transportation is hundreds of times safer than cars."

With impassioned pleas on both sides of the issue, the feds have their work cut out amid promises to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as early as this fall on updating school bus occupant safety. The NPRM's theme is anticipated to include recommendations for equipping the buses with three-point, lap-shoulder belts.

“It's counterintuitive to think school buses don't have seat belts. We owe it to America to look at this issue with fresh eyes,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said during the hearing. “Are we doing everything we can? I think we're all determined to find the right answer.”

Still, many who have made their career in pupil transportation say seat belts should never be equipped in school buses because they further compromise the safety of school children.

"Something that I almost never see address in the pros and cons about seat belts is the ability to evacuate in an emergency," added Lenz. "Remember, you cannot compare your car to a school bus."