With all this talk about gov't. job is to keep us safe (mask mandate, auto crash standards, vaping prohibitions, for instance), I've always wondered why seat belts aren't required on school buses.
Could it be that there's nothing in it for elected officials? Too much lobbying money against it?
Would you want to be the person to tell a bunch of kids to fasten their seat belt? If you think they would, you must be old. They have enough trouble keeping them from smoking dope and having sex on the bus.
Apples and oranges. Afaik city buses do not have seat belts.
formatting link
Some states, like New York, require school buses to have seat belts; they do not require the students to use them. Given the safety record of school buses it's a hard sell.
The second reason is probably why there isn't more pressure to adopt them. I've driven a school bus. It's hard enough to keep the kids from carving on the seats, shining laser pointers in your mirrors, throwing things, and fighting with each other less alone making sure they are buckled in.
The drivers and bus companies want no part of it. Installing belts cost money, which ultimately goes back to the schools when they renew their transportation contracts. Given that most school districts have never had a child injured or killed in a school bus, it doesn't look like a good investment.
I don't see any grand conspiracy or lobbying involved.
Indeed. When I were a lad, the bus company used the oldest clapped out coaches they had. Which was fun when they broke down and we got a couple of hours off school.
One time the driver asked my friend who was getting on, "could I get some water". To the driver and everyone else already on the bus, it was obvious this meant for the radiator, as the bus was overheating. My friend brought a glass of water for him to drink. The driver threw it across the steaming hot radiator and said "I'm gonna need a bucket".
I'm an adult and don't wear one for that very reason, how do you get it off you in a wreck where it's jamming you in?
Kids don't get killed that often. In fact they are more likely to get run over by the bus or a (illegal) passing vehicle than to die in it. OTOH school buses kill far more people unfortunate enough to get hit by one. These things are tanks.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.