Partnering to Make School Bus Safety Even Safer, U.S. Department of Transportation Holds Public Forum on Seat Belts on School Buses

Partnering to Make School Bus Safety Even Safer, U.S. Department of Transportation Holds Public Forum on Seat Belts on School Buses

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today called on state and local governments, education officials, school bus manufacturers, safety advocates and consumer organizations to help the federal government assess the effectiveness of seat belts on school buses.

Secretary Peters kicked off a day-long public meeting on the safety benefits, economic factors and other issues related to requiring seat belts on large school buses. Current federal standards for large school buses provide protection by the concept of compartmentalization, which does not require seat belts but creates a protection system like eggs in a carton. Compartmentalization combines flexible, energy-absorbent, high seat backs found on school buses and narrow spacing between each row to create a compartment that confines the occupant during a crash.

“The statistics tell us that school buses are the safest form of transportation on our highways,” Secretary Peters said. “The question we should ask is how we can make them even safer.”

Peters called on the meeting attendees to explore the best way to improve the safety of students riding on our nation’s school buses. She noted, “We owe it to our children to look at this issue with fresh eyes. With that in mind, it’s time to look at seat belts on buses,” she added.

According to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an average of 21 deaths involving school-aged children with school buses occurs each year. Of those killed, 6 are passengers inside the school bus and 15 involve pedestrians around the school bus. Nearly half a million school buses transport over 25 million students each year, traveling a total of 4.3 billion miles annually. School buses remain the safest means of transporting students to school and school-related activities, explained NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason.

“Even though the numbers aren’t large, we still have fatalities and injuries on school buses every year,” said Administrator Nason. “If there are sensible and practicable ways to more safely transport our children to school, it is our responsibility to investigate and make them a reality.”