Ok, I wasn't going to weigh in on this seatbelt issue on school busses, but
(climbing up on the soapbox) I use to drive school bus. I haven't driven
bus since 1994 so its been a while. The statistics show that for miles
driven the school bus is the safest form of transportation next to air
travel. There are several problems with putting seatbelts in school busses.
First, how many belt should be installed? School districts either contract
bus routes out to independent companies or own the busses outright
themselves. Since most busses are used to transport kids to more then 1
type of school (ie: elementary and high schools) the passenger rating is
different for the age groups of the kids expected to ride the bus. For
little kids, grades K-6, they figure 3 kids per seat for a total passenger
load of 72. When you load up the older kids, they only allow 2 kids per
seat so the passenger load drops to 48. So, taking this into consideration,
do we install 2 or 3 belts per seat? If you install 3 belts per seat then
when the older kids ride, someone will have to be sitting on the snap end
and that causes all kinds of other problems. Ok you say install the old
kind, with both the clip and the buckle on the end of the belt. Know what
happens then? the kids shove them down in the seat so they don;t have to
sit on them. If only 2 are installed, and you have a max passenger load
then several kids won't be wearing one. Now I know what you're gonna say:
just install 2 belts per seat and buy more busses. Thats not economically
feasible. Busses cost upwards of $60K each, plus the need for more drivers,
driver training, increased maintenance, fuel, and insurance.
Next, who will be responsible for making sure each kid is properly buckled
in? The driver? They have enough to do listening to 45-70 kids, all trying
to vent after being cooped up in classes all day, paying attention to
traffic and trying to make sure that Bobby isn't hitting Johnny. Hire as
aide? Goes back to economics. And one other thing, going back to the point
above, why, in this day and age when we have kids bringing guns to school
because they are ticked off at on of their classmates, would we give these
kids a handy weapon such as a seatbelt end? I'm sure we've all seen video
of fights on school busses on the news. Those are bad enough, can you
imagine a kid getting whacked across the face with a seatbelt end clip or
buckle?
I believe the driver needs to wear a belt and I'm all for a limited number
of seatbelts in school busses for kids with special needs that must be
transported using a car seat or some other special device. In my area, we
have a school that is established for children with special needs. Drivers
that service these children usually receive special training and have aides
assigned to those routes to assist with the children.
My father will be 80 next January. He retired from driving school bus a few
years ago. Not that he was driving a full size bus then, usually only a van
with 1 or 2 kids on board. In over 50 years of service, he never had an
accident. He was recognized by the state of Pennsylvania for that
outstanding achievement, receiving a commerative medallion and a
certificate signed by the governor.
I'll climb off my soapbox now and let the rest of this debate continue.
Ray Irons
Dover, DE
98 RC V6 daily driver
93 CC V6 fixer-upper
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