Children looking through windows of bus thinkstockJupiterimages/Getty Images/iStockphoto
When people get in a car they put on a seatbelt – but when in a school bus, they don't because, most of the time, there aren't any.
But that is changing, in the United States anyway. For the first time, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is recommending that every school bus have belts.
"School buses are by far the safest way for children to get to and from school," said NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind earlier this week to the National Association for Pupil Transportation. "(But) Let me clear any ambiguity now: The position of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is that seatbelts save lives … So NHTSA's policy is that every child on every school busy should have a three-point seat belt."
Currently, no provinces nor Transport Canada require seatbelts on school buses and there are no plans for that to change.
"In Canada, school buses continue to have an excellent safety record and remain among the safest forms of transportation for children to and from school," said Transport Canada Senior Media Relations Advisor Natasha Gauthier. "Transport Canada is aware of the NHTSA's endorsement of three-point seat belts in school buses. Manufacturers in Canada already provide the option of purchasing buses equipped with seat belts."
Gauthier added that making seat belts mandatory would require changes to provincial/territorial legislation and federal manufacturing regulations.
Transport Canada says the design of school buses renders seat belts unnecessary.
"In an accident, children are protected by the school bus seats, which are padded and spaced close together (compartmentalization)," said Gauthier. "Research supports the effectiveness of compartmentalization."
When looking at the statistics, school buses are much safer. There were 3,684 injuries and 11 deaths as a result of school bus crashes in Canada between 2003 and 2012 according to the National Collision Database. To contrast, there were 1.34 million injuries and 22,397 deaths in crashes on Canadian roads.
"A child is 16 times safer riding to school in a school bus than riding to school in a family car," said David Carroll, Legislation and Safety consultant to the Ontario School Bus Association, to the Globe in February.
Carroll also said if a bus is going to have a seatbelt, it should be a three-point one, not just a lap belt. Seats would have to be redesigned and made stiffer to accommodate the three-point belts and firmer seat backs wouldn't provide the same protection in the compartment. If the seats are stiffer and a child isn't wearing a belt, he or she won't be as protected.
Rosekind acknowledges in the United States more children die getting to the school bus than while riding it to school, but said, "Without seatbelts on buses, there is a gaping, obvious hole in our safety measures. ... Seat belts will save the lives of children who we might otherwise lose in crashes."
NHTSA realizes the challenge involved because of costs and is asking school boards to voluntarily attach the seatbelts. But if there is a lack of compliance, the administration said it may make new rules.
Rosekind said that it has taken decades to reach this point because the conversation always surrounded the many reasons why it was supposedly impossible.
"It is time to stop talking about what we can't accomplish, time to start making things happen," he said. "Because every child on a bus seat without a seatbelt means more risk of serious injury to precious cargo. Everyone – NHTSA, state policy makers, local school districts, manufacturers – everyone with a stake in this needs to step up."
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