Bus_Safety

English 111 4/27/2013 Bus Safety Should school buses be forced to install seat belts on all school buses' There are many sides to this debate. Illinois state law requires all occupants of passenger vehicles to wear a seatbelt, (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/062500050k12-603.1.htm). The law could be simplified if everyone that rides in a passenger vehicle, public transportation, or school bus has to wear a seat belt. There are a few reasons that others seem to use as justification as to why they should not have school age children wear some type of safety restraint. Joseph Harkness of the Elmwood School District #322 Bus Supervisor states buses are able to withstand being dropped from a crane onto their top and not cave in. This is due to the individual row bars that are placed over each compartment in the roof and in between each window. The front of the bus is designed to withstand the impact from an accident with minimal damage and has higher ground clearance than cars. The sides are made of reinforced forged steel plating. Buses can withstand an impact from a semi-truck up to forty-five miles per hour without any fatalities. The bus seats and designed to absorb energy and generally have about four inches of padding in the closely spaced seats. The seats have been raised up to twenty-four inches in height in order to create compartmentalization. There have been 1,409 school bus related fatalities in the U.S since 1988. Only 10% were school bus occupants (2% driver and 8% passengers). Studies show that the lap shoulder belt combination seems to be the most effective in protecting students in a crash in a car and on buses. This stops larger occupants from overriding the seat back. Currently, the school bus driver and any special needs child are the only persons mandated to wear seat belts on school buses, (www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/VRTC/cw/BUS_GIJune2000a.pdf). The (http://life.familyeducation.com/school/safety/36260.html) lists a few good reasons for why seatbelts should be worn by all passengers on school buses and not just the driver. If a crash occurs, the use of seatbelts will reduce the probability of death and the severity of injuries of children correctly seated in school buses. Seat belt usage improves passenger behavior and reduces driver distractions. Seat belt usage in school buses reinforces good safety habits. The cost to install seat belts is nominal. Buckles are designed and tested to unlatch with the push of a button, even in a bus rollover. Fully loaded, federal motor vehicle safety standards require that the force required to push the button on a buckle must be less than 14 lbs. With the state budget cutbacks, the schools across Illinois are feeling the crunch of having to absorb more costs. This would be just one more piece placed on the school districts plate. The last thing a school district wants right now is something else dipping in their pocket book. The liability of being sued after a child receives an injury in a school bus related accident should be enough for the consideration of installing seat belts. The cost of installing seat belts in a bus is approximately $1,500 to $3,000 per bus http://www.stnonline.com/resources/seat-belts/seat-belt-faqs. Parents that are in favor of having seat belts on school buses should not allow their school districts to dismiss their requests for seat belts to be installed. There will always be the issue of how expensive seat belts are to purchase, where will the money come from, and how will they ensure that each child will wear them. Suggest to your school board that each back of the seat should have an airbag installed. Once they hear that they will consider the cost between the airbag versus the seat belt. Contact the bus manufacturer for air bag installment pricing. There’s no doubt that the seat belt cost will appeal to them much more than each seat having an airbag. The airbag comment should also help loosen the purse string that was drawn so tightly before your airbag suggestion was made. The simplest way to ensure that each child wears his seat belt and properly fitted is two-fold. Each seat should be fitted with a row bar harness like the ones used on amusement park rides. Once the child sat down the child or driver could activate the row bar restraint to lower over the child. This would allow any size child to be fitted with ease. A light panel would need to be installed near the driver, which would indicate when a child is or isn’t properly restrained. Evacuation training would is essential for all students riding a school bus, whether the bus is equipped with restraints. Training prepares children to respond calmly in the event of an accident. If Illinois lawmakers believe seat belts are so desirable and necessary in passenger vehicles, then one would have to weigh the injustice of not offering that option to children who ride school buses. Works cited: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/062500050k12-603.1.htm http://life.familyeducation.com/school/safety/36260.html www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/VRTC/cw/BUS_GIJune2000a.pdf http://www.stnonline.com/resources/seat-belts/seat-belt-faqs (Harkness, Joseph. Interview)