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Seat Belts for NRSD School Buses in 2005!

Seat Belts for School Buses

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In the

NASHOBA REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

ADD MY NAME TO SUPPORT LIST      VIEW SUPPORT LIST (Updated 11/04/05)

Local News Articles (Updated 9/13/05)
Correspondence (Updated 9/8/05)
PowerPoint Presentation  - Feb. 12, 2004
NTSB Conclusions - Public Meeting September 21, 1999
Testimony presented to the National Transportation Safety Board, 1994
Bus Bid Specifications - Historical status of events

Revisions are being made as information becomes available.  
Keep checking back for more updates

Report by: 
Lori Hawkes, 9 Dawes Road, Stow, MA (978) 562-6630 Lhawkes105@aol.com

You are visitor #   since 2/10/2004


TABLE OF CONTENTS


INTRODUCTION

COMPARTMENTALIZATION

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 222 (FMVSS 222)

IMPROVE SCHOOL BUS DISCIPLINE

DECREASE BULLYING AND TEASING

PROVIDE A COHESIVE, UNINTERRUPTED MESSAGE (Carryover Effect)

MINIMIZE/AVOID POTENTIAL LAW SUITS

LAWSUIT - Flagstaff, AZ - Case settled for $28 million

Seward bus crash case settled ($3.07 million) – February 21, 2004  

IMPROVE SAFETY

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Transportation Safety Board

NTSB Conclusion:

POSSIBLY MINIMIZE INSURANCE COSTS

SOME COMMON CONCERNS

COST (Updated 12/10/04)

RETROFITTING EXISTING BUSES

EVACUATION

What type of belt/buckle is recommended? Updated 12/10/04

BELTS USED AS WEAPONS

NHTSA DICTIONARY OF CHILD SAFETY SEAT TERMS (Updated 11/16/04)

CHILD SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEMS (CSRS)

HOW CAN DRIVER BE ASSURED THAT ALL SEAT BELTS ARE SECURED PROPERLY? 

WILL THE DRIVER BE HELD LIABLE FOR STUDENTS FAILING TO WEAR SEATBELTS? 

MYTH: LAP BELTS CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD

 

PROPONENTS

OPPONENTS

SEAT BELTS ON SCHOOL BUSES

State Law:

Local Communities:

Other MA Communities:

School Bus Specifications:    (Updated 6/7/04)

SUPPORT (Updated 11/18/04)

RECOMMENDATION: (Updated 12/1/04)

IMMEDIATE ACTION ITEM 

WEBSITES

APPENDIX
HEROES
REPORTS/STUDIES
LIABILITY ASPECT
TESTIMONIALS/ENDORSEMENTS
ACCIDENTS (Updated 5/25/05)
MISCELLANEOUS
TRAINING/EDUCATION (Updated 9/8/05)
NJ SEAT BELT LAW
NEWTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS


INTRODUCTION

Feb. 2004 - Over a year and a half ago, our daughter began Kindergarten at Pompositticut Elementary School in Stow and riding the school bus. Along with many other parents, my husband and I were not only surprised, but also appalled at the idea of letting our child travel in a moving vehicle on a public road unsupervised and unbuckled. Like all Kindergarteners in the Nashoba Regional School District (NRSD), it would have been her first time in her life to travel without a restraint system to protect her. However, we requested and were granted a seat belt, so it appeared to solve her problem. However, I was still not comfortable with the rest of the kids jumping around on the bus and found many parents were not either, so I began to investigate the situation. I set out to help either fix the problem or ease my mind depending on the outcome of my research.

Since then, I have spent many hours searching the internet, meeting with the Stow Elementary School Council and its Safety Subcommittee, talking with local police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses, bus drivers and many parents pondering the question of whether or not seatbelts on school buses should be required for our children. As a result, I discovered that safety was not the only issue with which to be concerned.

I also had lengthy conversations with Newton School Committee Chairperson Ann Larner and Director of Transportation, Ken Temkin to discuss the pros and cons of seatbelts from their perspective. (In June 2002, the Newton School Committee voted unanimously to include factory-installed seat belts on all their school buses in a new contract.) The School Committee, according to Ann Larner, struggled with both sides of the issue, but ended up basing their decision primarily upon the facts that their research led them to believe that the government’s crash testing methods and data were "questionable" and the major proponents of seat belts represented the medical field. They felt that pediatricians and other healthcare providers had more interest in the children’s overall wellbeing than the transportation industry and political arenas. I must say that I have to agree with that. In addition, let us not forget all the wonderful bus drivers who care so much about our little ones, they are our unsung heroes! (See Appendix A)

At this point, I wish to thank my husband and daughter, for without their unending enduring patience and understanding; this report would never have been written.

I must admit that I set out believing in my heart that seat belts on school buses should be available and used, however, I did not have any facts to support my theory. I did not understand why seat belts were not on the buses already since all 50 states require them in automobiles. I was fearful (from reading opposing viewpoints) that maybe seat belts were not really as safe as I thought they were and that they might even be dangerous. This proved not to be the case. After many months of research, I will get straight to my findings and then follow up with the data to support it.

Currently, the NRSD school buses are a fertile environment for promoting discipline, bullying and teasing problems. The buses are unsupervised "playgrounds on wheels". The absence of seat belts gives our children "negative messages" regarding the use of them. The "safety feature" called compartmentalization performs dismally. The NRSD is exposed to liability as well as, medical and transportation insurance costs for NOT having provided adequate safety measures to school bus accident victims. Therefore, I am absolutely certain that:
Additional restraints to keep school bus passengers seated are needed for safety, discipline and education
"Compartmentalization" is not enough to ensure containment of school bus passengers
Lap belts on school buses are safer than just compartmentalization,
Lap/shoulder belts are safer than lap belts,
For children under 50 lbs., Child Safety Restraint Systems (CSRS) are safer than lap/shoulder belts, and
The NRSD must supply seat belts, education, training and encourage, if not demand their usage,
Support must come from parents, teachers, administrators, school bus drivers, public safety personnel as well as the general public

The most important action a parent can take is to communicate with their School Board and state/local legislators that school transportation is just as important as the classroom education of their children. Teachers cannot educate our children unless they arrive at school safe and ready to learn.

COMPARTMENTALIZATION            UP

The passive restraint system "Compartmentalization" is the term coined in the late 1960s by researchers at UCLA. Broadly, the term compartmentalization denotes a safety envelope or "compartment" around passengers in school buses. The idea is that if a crash occurs, the child may be thrown around within the compartment but the design of the seat compartment absorbs the crash forces and protects the child. However, the seats currently installed in school buses are different from those recommended by UCLA researchers. The seats they proposed were 8" higher, were more energy absorbing, and were equipped with a massive side arm at the aisle to complete the compartment.

Under the compartmentalization concept, seat backs in school buses are higher, wider and thicker than before. All metal surfaces are covered with foam padding. This structure must then meet rigid test requirements for bending and absorbing energy, such as would be required if a student's body were thrown against the padded back. In addition, the equivalent of a seat back, called a "barrier," is placed in front of the first row of seats at the front of the bus.

In addition to padding, today's seats also must have a steel inner structure that springs and bends forward to help absorb energy when a child is thrown against it. The steel frame must "give" just enough to absorb the child in the seat ahead. Also, of course, the seat is required to be anchored to the floor so strongly that it will not pull loose during this bending action. And the floor itself must be so strong that it will not be torn by the pulling action of the seat anchors during a crash.

Seats are spaced close together as another safety protection to ensure containment of children after a crash. If the seats are spaced too far apart, the student could be thrown too far before being cushioned and/or could be thrown outside the compartment altogether.

Today's regulations (FMVSS 222) require that seats are no more than 24-inches apart.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards  UP

FMVSS 222 School bus passenger seating and crash protection

This standard establishes occupant protection requirements for school bus passenger seating and restraining barriers. The purpose of this standard is to reduce the number of deaths and the severity of injuries that result from the impact of school bus occupants against structures within the vehicle during crashes and sudden driving maneuvers.  This standard applies to school buses

FMVSS 208 Occupant crash protection

This standard specifies performance requirements for the protection of vehicle occupants in crashes. The purpose of this standard is to reduce the number of deaths of vehicle occupants, and the severity of injuries, by specifying vehicle crashworthiness requirements in terms of forces and accelerations measured on anthropomorphic dummies in test crashes, and by specifying equipment requirements for active and passive restraint systems.  This standard applies to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses.

In addition to compartmentalization, my research shows that installing non-passive passenger restraints in all school buses will:
Improve school bus discipline
Decrease bullying and teasing
Provide a cohesive, uninterrupted message (carryover effect) to children that seat belt usage is critically important, throughout their lives
Minimize/avoid potential lawsuits
Improve safety
Possibly minimize future insurance costs

IMPROVE SCHOOL BUS DISCIPLINE        UP

One of drivers' major problems is that of maintaining discipline. The related issue of standees on buses is of critical importance to passenger safety. On most bus runs, parents observed children standing or hanging over the seats. The 28 [inch]-high-backed seats on our buses encourage children to stand up on the seats in order to have eye-to-eye contact with their friends. Standing children are prime targets for minor injuries should the bus stop suddenly. (It must be noted that at least some others report no problems in keeping students seated, when seat belts are provided and their usage is enforced.)

In a survey completed by the Office of Educational Management Services, University of the State of NY in 1997 the following comment was representative of the 44 school districts that require seatbelt usage: "The most important aspect of seat belt use is that the belts are a great management tool for student behavior. When wearing belts the students are seated and therefore there is: (1) less fighting and physical contact; (2) a quieter trip; and (3) less confusion and fewer distractions for the driver. The result is a safer trip." (See Appendix B-2)

Ozzie Hill, Jr., drives a school bus for the Camp Lejeune Department of Defense Dependent Schools in North Carolina. A former NEA local affiliate president, he's now the Human and Civil Rights Coordinator for the Lejeune Education Support Association. 

He writes: ". . . We all know that seat belts are intended to keep people in their seats, to prevent the kind of injuries that might result when kids are tossed around like salad. And we know that seat belts keep kids from standing or jumping up and distracting the driver. So what are we waiting for?

"Some say it's human nature to wait for tragedy to strike before making unpleasant change. It took a long time to mandate bike helmets, for example. And it can take forever to get a stop light at a busy intersection.

"But we don't have forever. We're talking about children and safety. Truth be told, parents, educators, and lawmakers should have insisted years ago that school buses be equipped with seat belts." (Appendix D-14)

In Greenburgh, New York, drivers wrote a school bus safety pamphlet for the younger grades, including seat belt usage, and at their own request went into each classroom to teach the children themselves. Many of the drivers who have been driving buses with belts have found that discipline problems are, in fact, cut down (From School Bus Fleet / June--July 1984, A Misleading Safety Record, Carol Fast [Founder of NCSSB]).

Newton schools do not require students to buckle up unless they are on a field trip. The speeds normally used for commuting to and from their schools vs. the high speeds used on Rte. 128 for most of their field trips were a factor in their policy-making process. Bus monitors are not required, but adult supervision is always available on field trips and seat belt usage is enforced.

Catalina Foothills District and Marana District (both in the greater Tucson, Arizona, area) have both successfully left such enforcement up to drivers and have not needed monitors.

DECREASE BULLYING AND TEASING        UP

"Recent incidents of school violence have focused new attention on childhood bullying and harassment. As we watch children being crushed by bullying, we often feel powerless. No more!
There are ways to stop bullying and harassment, based on decades of research.

One simple cost-effective method to help reduce bullying and teasing on the bus is to have children wear seat belts to help keep them from annoying other children by remaining in their seats and having less eye-to-eye contact. They will then be less apt to engage in fighting and disruptive behavior that can lead to bullying and teasing. (Appendix B-2)

"There is little need to describe why people want to stop childhood bullying. Childhood bullies are likely to become young adult criminals. Bullied children grow up with diminished self-confidence.

We sometimes see bullying as an inevitable part of childhood. Yet, according to decades of research, 50% reductions in rates of bullying are possible." (http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/index.htm)

"Although adults often dismiss it as a case of 'kids being kids,' bullying is a serious public health problem that can have long-term effects on a victim's psychological well being," said Dr. Ronald Davis, an AMA trustee and a preventive medicine and public health physician in Detroit.

"Bullying and victimization is a school problem not only because the school [and the school bus – L. Hawkes] is the arena where the act is committed, but also because school attendance is mandatory and children cannot choose who they want to be with. It is the right of children therefore, to be assured of their safety whilst under the charge of the school, and to expect that their learning and their lives are not disrupted by bullying. The school needs the support of the whole community to achieve this goal." (http://www.tcdsb.org/parents/bullyproofing_handbook.htm)

"Very few school divisions will ever have to deal with a school shooting, but most schools have to deal with teenage suicide, and every school has bullies. We are so preoccupied with the high profile tragedy on television that we overlook the commonplace tragedies in our own communities.

Studies have found that victims of chronic bullying are more likely than other students to suffer long-term problems with depression and anxiety, and to be academic underachievers. Studies of bullies find that by age 24 they are six times more likely to commit violent crimes than their peers (Olweus, 1993; Olweus & Limber, 1999; National School Safety Center, 1999; Nolin, Davies, & Chandler, 1996; Smith & Brain, 2000).

"Unfortunately, studies also show that teachers tend to overlook bullying, either because they do not know what to do or because they think students should solve the problem by themselves (Olweus & Limber, 1999; O'Moore, 2000; Smith & Brain, 2000).

"Our schools need firm policies against bullying, and training for teachers to recognize the problem of bullying. Studies show that formal, school wide bully proofing programs can reduce bullying by 50% (Olweus & Limber, 1999; Stoker & Bonds, 2000). But most schools have neither the personnel nor the funding to implement such programs properly. Schools are severely understaffed with guidance counselors and school psychologists because they need every available dollar to hire teachers and reduce class size." (http://www.house.gov/scott/youth_violence_briefing_cornell_remarks.htm)

US States with Anti-Bullying Laws
Connecticut
Georgia
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Vermont
West Virginia
Louisiana
New Hampshire
Oregon

With the growing awareness that bullying is far from a harmless rite of childhood passage, the federal government is planning a $3.4 million campaign beginning this year to combat the practice.

PROVIDE A COHESIVE, UNINTERRUPTED MESSAGE (Carryover Effect)    UP

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracted with Creative Associates, Inc., to conduct an exploratory study of the possible ‘carryover’ effects of safety belt use in school buses, based on the experiences of sites currently operating school bus safety belt programs. 

The resulting project (DOT HS 806 965 Final Report) was to report on three sets of questions:

1. To what extent do students who ride belt-equipped school buses use the safety belts? What factors appear to be related to increasing belt use on buses?

2. To what extent do bus-related belt habits 'carry over' to the students' private automobiles? For example, do students wear car belts more frequently or encourage others to use car safety belts?

3. What other behavioral or attitudinal issues appear among students who ride belt-equipped buses? How does bus belt use affect student conduct an the bus? What effects do laws mandating belt use in cars have on students' bus and car belt use?

In addition to these use-related issues, the study was to provide initial reports an administrative and educational components of bus belt programs. Topics to be addressed included starting and managing the programs and reactions of school staff to the programs. 

"School administrators perceived that safety belts increased student safety and improved student conduct. Administrators reported that if they had to make the decision over again they would opt for equipping buses with belts and would recommend beIt programs to other school districts. However, they would not support legislative mandates for school bus belt programs in all school districts because some districts would not have the resources , commitment, and leadership necessary to succeed.

"All transportation directors, even those initially opposed to a trial bus belt program, supported subsequent decisions to equip their entire large bus fleets with belts as soon as possible.

"Drivers in most sites supported the bus belt programs, valuing improved student conduct. However, some drivers reported difficulties enforcing the belt program when school administrators were not fully supportive.

"Parents uniformly supported the program, primarily based on perceptions of increased safety and optimism about carryover effects, although some acknowledged that their interest initially was in the effects an discipline. (Several superintendents, who perceived safety and conduct improvements, mentioned that their endorsement and leadership for a belt program were relatively easy, inexpensive, and non-controversial ways to increase their support among parents.)" (See Study)

This summarizes the comments made by school officials, drivers, students, and parents. "School officials, educators, and parents expressed a widespread belief that routine bus belt use by students would be habit forming. They further presumed that students' bus belt habits would lead to belt use in cars among those students who had not buckled up before riding belt-equipped buses." (See Appendix B-7)

Opponents ignore the fact that by not providing seat belts, a school district is demonstrating a form of NEGATIVE EDUCATION. All 50 states protect our young motor-vehicle passengers by mandating the use of safety seats or belts in passenger cars. Thus, the children today are already trained to "buckle-up" and are in the habit of riding safely secured. This habit persists, enforced by law, until the first day of school where a portion of the Transport Industry says it’s proper to ride unsecured. This negative training carries over to our teenage drivers. Automobile deaths are the number one killer of our teenagers.

Seat belt use on school buses will have a positive carry-over effect on school children when they are being transported in passenger vehicles. By encouraging the installation of seat belts and their usage in school buses, there will be a positive carryover to automobiles:
Our older children, our teenagers and our young adults are killed in massive numbers each year because they have not learned the importance of using a safety belt for every motor vehicle excursion.
Avoid Mixed Messages - Two trips a day, every weekday, for about 9 months of the year is a powerfully reinforced negative learning experience.
IT IS EVEN POSSIBLE THAT THE PARENTS WILL LEARN FROM THEIR CHILDREN!

What a great OPPORTUNITY we have before us to educate and condition a new generation of children and even their parents or grandparents with this life saving belt.

MINIMIZE/AVOID POTENTIAL LAW SUITS        UP

". . . In sum, we find it difficult to imagine the Board adopting a policy not to use safety goggles in laboratory or shop classes merely because a small number of students occasionally do not use or [do] misuse the equipment.

"Similarly it seems unlikely that safety equipment such as helmets or face masks for students involved in sports would be eliminated for fear that occasional misuse or nonuse of these items could somehow expand school district liability. Clearly, the potential liability for failure to provide the safety equipment has always been perceived to outweigh any concerns over potential school district exposure for isolated abuses of the policies requiring the safety equipment. We are not aware of any legal reason to treat seat belts on school buses differently." (See Appendix B-1, Pg. 59)

When considering whether or not to put seat belts on their district buses, the Arizona Amphi-District Board of Education requested a legal opinion as to the increase of liability it might incur. This is a summary of the response.

"If the board decides to install the belts, '...the potential benefit of reduced liability outweighs the additional obligation incurred', but the Board 'must act reasonably' in doing this.' The Board could meet its duty of care owed if it (a) [ensures] that seat belts are properly installed and maintained, (b) instructs students on how to use them, (c) informs students of their importance, and (d) encourages and monitors their use."

"The School Board, in its capacity as a provider of transportation for students, is acting as a 'common carrier'. The State General Statutes require them to 'use the utmost care consistent with the nature of its business to guard its passengers against all dangers which might reasonably and naturally be expected to occur, in view of all the circumstances."

The legal opinion added that this "includes the duty to protect passengers who are unable to protect themselves." 'Thus, at some point in the near future it may be the case that a common carrier fails to meet its duty by not installing seat belts in buses.’ (Anonymous summary of legal opinion; anonymous because each state has different laws, says the NCSSB Manual – (See Appendix B-1)

LAWSUIT - Case settled for $28 million        UP

Flagstaff, AZ - Christina Chadwick vs. AmTrans - A $28 million accident settlement "On August 14, 1996, a school bus carrying 31 Sinagua High School students rolled over on Interstate 17 in Flagstaff. The accident caused serious injuries to two students and minor injuries to several other students. The two students seriously injured received $28 million in a settlement with the Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD)" .One child suffered a head injury that requires long-term care and another was left a quadriplegic after the accident. - Buses are now equipped with seat belts.

In a letter dated 9/15/99 from Attorney Mark Ledbetter the following excerpt was written : " . . . Arnold Siegel Deposition-Siegel, states that the injuries of Christina Chadwick, Thomas Carlock, Joey Paulman and, Char Chadwick, Jr., were occasioned by an accident in which they were unrestrained and that the lack of seatbelts was a substantial factor (proximate cause) in causing their injuries; these opinions were to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty; Siegel testified that this was a design flaw in the bus;. . ."(See Appendix C)

IMPROVE SAFETY        UP

Here's an excerpt from a  Lesson Plan on Properly Using Seat Belts ". . . there are three collisions going on at the same time when you are involved in a vehicle crash:

"1. The Vehicle's Collision
This is what happens at the point of impact, when the vehicle hits something. The result of this collision can be seen by the visible signs of impact on the vehicle itself.

"2. The Human Collision:
At the moment of impact, if you are UNBELTED, you are still moving at the same speed that the car was moving. Whatever is in front of you will stop you from moving, whether that is a steering wheel, a windshield or a seat in front of you. The human collision is the one that causes injury.

"3. The Human Body's Internal Collision
Even after you come to a complete stop, your internal organs are still moving forward. Suddenly, these organs hit other organs. This third collision - the internal collision-it causes considerable, and potentially fatal injury. For instance, your heart is suspended in your chest by arteries and veins - an impact at high speeds can cause the heart muscle to rip away from some of the arteries holding it in place.

By wearing a belt -- when a collision does happen, you have the best chance of reducing or avoiding injury if everyone is buckled up."

According to seat belt advocate Jerry Grunnagle, "the national school bus crash statistics are inaccurate due to the following factors. Collisions occurring after school hours, during field trips, sporting events, other organizational activities and pre-school transportation are omitted from the statistics. States compile school bus crash statistics but are not required to report collisions, injuries or fatalities to NHTSA. The lack of a national uniform reporting system deprives society a factual representation of school bus safety.  

Evidence will prove school buses are not the safest mode of transportation. Jerry Grunnagle, using data collected by NHTSA, the American Medical Association, the National Safety Council and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, has compiled a factual representation of school bus safety." (See Appendix F-16)

"Once again NHTSA has failed miserably in addressing the problem of "compromised compartmentalization" in school bus side impact and rollover accidents.  As a direct result, children will continue to be killed and injured in school bus accidents.  The responsibility to correct this well documented inadequacy now resides with the States and with local school districts." (See Appendix B-3)

"Parents should not be lulled into complacency regarding the safety of their children on school buses. In addition to the inadequacies during loading and discharge of passengers, most school buses are not equipped with seat belts; with capacities of up to 90 children, emergency exits are insufficient; few have two way communication or escape hatches in the roof. Contrary to LeMon's assertions, a great deal remains to be accomplished to ensure a safe trip back and forth to school." -

http://www.geocities.com/2safeschools/notes/yeager1.htm

"Dr. Arthur Yeager, a New Jersey Dentist, has been active in automotive and school bus safety for the past 30 years. He lists as accomplishments, the enactment of two, first in the nation laws, one to require the installation and use of seat belts on school buses and another measure to require use of bicycle helmets by children. In addition he has been instrumental in passing legislation raising the drinking age to 21, requiring school buses to have high back padded seats, roof hatches and crossing gates, child restraint laws, moped helmet use and providing for ice cream truck stop signs. "

The National Coalition for School Bus Safety (NCSBS) supports seat belts on all new school buses. The organization has been actively monitoring school bus safety and collecting data for over 15 years.

The fact is that basic bus design has not changed since 1977, when the safety structure called compartmentalization was implemented. Aside from the repugnant thought of our children being bounced around between seats during an accident, compartmentalization simply FAILS to contain children in many situations, including off-center front impacts, side impacts and in rollovers.

The National Safety Council reports that about 13,000 pupil-passengers were injured on school buses in one year. The preliminary data from New Jersey, where seat belts are mandated, shows lower morbidity and mortality rates on school bus crashes.

"Providing safety belts in school buses will save lives and prevent or reduce the severity of injuries.... Requiring extra padding on seat backs combined with lap belts will reduce further HIC levels and facial lacerations in school bus accidents" (See Appendix B-1, Pg. 55)

"Anyone who has passed a ... school bus cannot help but notice children standing, crawling over the backs of the seats, and leaning against [or, out of!--S.L.] the windows. The seatbelts will put the children exactly where they should be--in their seats and facing forward. The bus driver will then be able to give his full attention to where it is needed most--to driving his bus safely through the streets...." 
(See Appendix B-1, Pg. 8)

I had one mom tell me that when her son had a broken arm, she drove him back and forth to school in the family car because there were no seat belts on the bus to keep him from being tossed into the aisle if there was an accident.  Even stopping short will cause injuries. 

"Lest someone tell you that despite what I have said, the buses themselves are intrinsically safe, and that by 'compartmentalization' protect children from the harm of crash events, please recognize that current design safety standards were intended primarily to protect children from the forces of a front end crash (and even there they do an inadequate job - CHP probes Vista school bus mishap that injures 17 - May 3, 2004). Unfortunately, the majority of accidents involving buses have little to do with the front end of the vehicle. Buses are, more commonly, struck from the side at intersections or experience rear end or rollover collisions. These are precisely the accidents in which safety belts would unquestionably be life savers. [These last statistics do not exactly jibe with those on p. 169 of the NCSSB Manual, where it is noted that 55.9% of accidents are due to front-end collisions. However, 35.3% of front-enders result in rollovers, 14.7% of occupant fatalities result from side-impact collisions, and fully 50% of all occupant fatalities result from rollover accidents." 
(See Appendix B-1, Pg. 15)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration        UP

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), under the U.S. Department of Transportation, was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970, as the successor to the National Highway Safety Bureau, to carry out safety programs under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act of 1966. The Vehicle Safety Act has subsequently been recodified under Title 49 of the U. S. Code in Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety. NHTSA also carries out consumer programs established by the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972, which has been recodified in various Chapters under Title 49.

NHTSA is responsible for reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. This is accomplished by setting and enforcing safety performance standards for motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, and through grants to state and local governments to enable them to conduct effective local highway safety programs.

The National Transportation Safety Board        UP

"The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in the other modes of transportation -- railroad, highway, marine and pipeline -- and issuing safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. The Safety Board determines the probable cause of:

· all U.S. civil aviation accidents and certain public-use aircraft accidents;

· selected highway accidents;

· railroad accidents involving passenger trains or any train accident that results in at least one fatality or major property damage;

· major marine accidents and any marine accident involving a public and a nonpublic vessel;

· pipeline accidents involving a fatality or substantial property damage;

· releases of hazardous materials in all forms of transportation; and

· selected transportation accidents that involve problems of a recurring nature.

"The rules of the Board are located in Chapter VIII, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

"The NTSB is responsible for maintaining the government's database of civil aviation accidents and also conducts special studies of transportation safety issues of national significance. The NTSB provides investigators to serve as U.S. Accredited Representatives as specified in international treaties for aviation accidents overseas involving U.S.-registered aircraft, or involving aircraft or major components of U.S. manufacture.

"The NTSB also serves as the "court of appeals" for any airman, mechanic or mariner whenever certificate action is taken by the Federal Aviation Administration or the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, or when civil penalties are assessed by the FAA. For more information about this NTSB function, see the pages regarding the Administrative Law Judges and General Counsel.

"The NTSB opened its doors on April 1, 1967. Although independent, it relied on the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for funding and administrative support. In 1975, under the Independent Safety Board Act, all organizational ties to DOT were severed. The NTSB is not part of DOT, or affiliated with any of its modal agencies.

"Since its inception in 1967, the NTSB has investigated more than 124,000 aviation accidents and over 10,000 surface transportation accidents. In so doing, it has become one of the world's premier accident investigation agencies. On call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, NTSB investigators travel throughout the country and to every corner of the world to investigate significant accidents and develop factual records and safety recommendations." (http://www.ntsb.gov/Abt_NTSB/history.htm)

NTSB Conclusion:        UP

  "1. In the accidents analyzed for this special investigation, school bus passengers who remained within the seating compartment but not within the intrusion area during the accident sequence were less likely to have been seriously injured than passengers who were out of the compartment before the collision or who were propelled from the compartment during the collision." (Appendix B-5)

The following excerpts are from remarks by Jim Hall, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (1994-2001) before the National Association for Pupil Transportation – 24th Annual Conference & Trade Show, Austin, Texas, November 2, 1998:

"We still investigate crashes where students are tragically thrown from the bus or tossed around in the bus and are killed or seriously injured."

". . . And we have no answers for those fatalities that occur in rear, side and rollover crashes for which compartmentalization is less effective."

". . . Additionally, many of those who testified indicated that in certain situations, compartmentalization may not be enough to ensure containment of the child passenger. This factor is certainly apparent in our recent investigations."

" . . The bounds of school bus safety issues do not stop at the loading door; they affect our students’ perceptions and are impacted by the changing nature of the operating environment. "

". . . I personally think it’s our turn now to step up to the plate on the issue of lap/shoulder belts in school buses. We already require seat belts on small school buses. We have to stop being indecisive on this issue. Let’s commit to doing it, but let’s do it right." (See Appendix B-6)

POSSIBLY MINIMIZE INSURANCE COSTS        UP

"One of the cost aspects people do not often seem to consider is that of potentially reduced liability. As data becomes available to insurers, and competition for the business of school-bus-with-seatbelts districts increases, insurance rates should actually be reduced for districts using school bus seat belts.

". . . It also appears likely that the District would decrease its liability exposure [why not its insurance costs, as well?--S.L.] if it equipped new buses with seat belts. First, the children wearing seat belts may be less likely to be injured, thereby reducing the total number of plaintiffs. Second, the trend across the country appears to require buses to be equipped with seat belts. If this becomes the standard practice, the argument for liability on a non-equipped bus would be primarily that the District had failed to meet this standard. Since any such standard would surely first arise with respect to new buses, any minimal protection the district might achieve for old buses by leaving belts out of new ones would almost certainly be outweighed by increased exposure were a new, unequipped bus to be involved in a crash. It would, we feel, be much better to argue to a jury that safety devices were being added in a rational and orderly way than to be perceived, whether correctly or not, as omitting them in an effort to avoid liability on a somewhat dubious legal argument. . . " – (See Appendix B-1, Pg. 58)

SOME COMMON CONCERNS        UP

(See Appendix B-1, B-2, F-18 and particularly from School Bus Fleet / June-- July 1984, "A Misleading Safety Record," Carol Fast [Founder of NCSSB] 

(Some Fairy Tales About Seatbelts - University of Oklahoma Police Department) 

COST
At the Dec. 2 Transportation Subcommittee meeting, according to Nashoba Regional School District Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance John Antonucci, the cost per bus per day will be approximately $2.50 (about 1% of the total cost per day).  

In 2002, Newton required factory installed seat belts on all their buses at no significant increase in cost. According to Ken Temker, Newton Transportation Director, it only cost an additional .06 cents per day per bus per year.  (See Appendix I-24  

Additional related info:  "The biggest objection to requiring seat belts is their cost. It can cost $1,100 to $1,600 per bus to add seat belts at the factory, and even more to retrofit a bus.

 . . . federal agencies long ago embraced cost-benefit analysis. For instance, the Transportation Department has decided that a human life is worth $2.7 million, a figure that argues against mandatory seat belts. The statistic is based on an estimate of future earnings. On the other hand, a series of economic studies values human life between $3 million and $7 million. These estimates are derived by estimating the wage premium workers demand to accept high-risk jobs." (Why Don't Buses Have Seat Belts? - Bruce Gottlieb)

"Opponents claim that seat belts on school buses are not cost effective and that school buses have an excellent safety record. They ignore the fact that seat belts would cost most districts about $1.50 a child per year or less than a penny a day for this added protection." (Appendix F-19)

RETROFITTING EXISTING BUSES

Retrofitting is a very controversial subject. Mainly because no one knows the condition of the outside of the bus floor. Is there any rust? Road damage? Can the floor of an older bus offer the strength needed for seatbelt equipped seats to meet FMVSS 222? Those questions, most knowledgeable experts agree that seat belts should not be added or retrofitted to an older school bus unless the bus was originally manufactured "seat belt ready." This means it was built with stronger seats and additional reinforcement in the structure of the bus, including the anchorages that hold the seat to the floor to withstand the added "loading" of belted passengers during a crash. The cost to retrofit has been estimated by one bus manufacturer to range between $2,700 to $3,400 for a 66- to 78-passenger school bus, to a cost estimated to range between $5,000 to $11,000 per bus by an agency of the New Hampshire state government.

Retrofitting buses with seat belts is also more costly than factory-installed seat belts, so I would not recommend it even if our buses were "seat belt ready".  The Newton  School Committee opted for "factory-installed" seat belts in their specifications to minimize the costs.  

EVACUATION        UP

"Opponents suggest that seat belts would hinder evacuation and that they are more trouble than they're worth. On the contrary, during a crash, children become human missiles as they are thrown from their seats, into one another or into aisles, blocking quick evacuation. The children today can utilize this basic safety technology without slowing evacuation as they have been using seat belts in the family car since they were infants and are well trained in buckling and unbuckling the belt. It is easier to assist a conscious passenger than one who has been tossed about in a collision. The Fire Marshall's Association endorsement and seat belts widespread use on airplanes attest to this." (Langford)

. . . "However once buckling and unbuckling on the bus become a habit, the children will do it automatically in any situation." (Charles Szuberla, University of the State of NY)

"CAN SMALL CHILDREN GET OUT OF THE SEAT BELTS IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE OR ROLL-OVER? Yes. They remain conscious instead of injured, stunned or unconscious from an accident or roll-over and have a much greater chance of quick evacuation. This has been proven by the National Transportation Safety Board in their investigation of 3 roll-over accidents involving very young children, 4-6 years old, in vans - all seat belted. All children got out of the bus immediately. All were uninjured, thanks to their seatbelts. This fear is no different than the fears voiced in the 1950's and 60's against seatbelts in cars." (Carol Fast, founder and President of the National Coalition for Seatbelts on School Buses, and the School Bus Resource for the New York State PTA before the Nassau County Board of Supervisors - 1984)

"March 1998 - In Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, a large school bus carrying preschoolers, all wearing seat belts as required by law, was struck laterally by a van.  The impact of the crash caused the bus to roll onto its side.  The children unbuckled themselves and began to evacuate the bus before fire and rescue personnel arrived.  None of the students sustained injuries.  Chippewa Falls Police Chief, Joseph Coughlin stated, 'The fact that all the children wore seat belts prevented a potential tragedy.'   'The chances of injury would have been much greater, especially in a roll-over accident, had seat belts not been worn,' Coughlin said." (P.A.S.S. Legislation - Answers to Common Concerns http://www.sihope.com/~kjob/pass/pro-con.htm) - 11/22/04 Hyperlink no longer active.  PASS website removed per Dr. Alan Ross 

"The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated two rollover accidents involving small buses where very young children were using seat belts. All children were able to unbuckle themselves with ease ... even though they were left hanging in the air after the accident. All escaped without injury" (From School Bus Fleet / June-- July 1984, "A Misleading Safety Record," Carol Fast [Founder of NCSSB]). While there are no hard data on this for large school buses, a report from Nassau County, New York about a rollover accident involving a small, van-type bus, noted that 4 to 7 year old children were able to unbuckle themselves and escape without panic." (Langford)

To address concerns that the seat belt might jam and trap passengers in their seats, (not a common occurrence), belt cutters would be standard equipment on all buses. (This same argument was also used by opponents of seat belts in automobiles many years ago and was overwhelmingly rejected by the fact that seat belts save lives and prevent injuries.) Bus drivers need to be trained to remove both seated and unseated passengers in the case of an accident. (See Appendix B-2)

Evacuation drills must be conducted in accordance with State and Federal law. Stow Fire Chief David Soar has expressed concerns, but at the same time believes these issues can be worked out. "It is much easier to help unbuckle some kids than it is to deal with the potential number of injured children without a buckle." (Chief David Soar, Stow Fire Department - December 2003) (See Appendix D-13)

BELTS USED AS WEAPONS        UP

As all children today have been wearing seat belts since they were born, it is not likely that they will be seen as anything but just another seat belt to be worn when they get on the bus. I followed this up last year with Superintendent Bill Ryan of the Acton-Boxborough Regional Public School District, and he reported that they have been using seat belts on their buses for at least 10 years without incident. (Also, Newton report - Appendix I-25)

In addition, here is what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say about this issue: "Children have much better weapons available, including lunch boxes and books. In addition, the newer, lightweight, smaller, retractable seat belts now available are unlikely to be effective as weapons." (See Appendix B-1, Pg. 21)

 

NHTSA Dictionary of Child Safety Seat Terms 

2-Point Seat Belt: A restraint system with two attachment points. A lap belt. 

3-Point Child Restraint Harness (CR) Harness: A restraint system with three attachment points, two at the shoulder and one between the legs. 

3-Point Seat Belt: A seat belt with both a lap and a shoulder portion, having three attachment points (one shoulder, two hips). 

5-Point Child Restraint (CR) Harness: A child restraint harness with five attachment points, two at the shoulder, two at the hips, one between the legs. 

Advanced Air Bags: Supplemental restraint systems with deployment adjustments to better protect children and improperly positioned adults. 

Air Bag: A passive (idle) restraint system that automatically deploys during a crash to act as a cushion for the occupant. It creates a broad surface on which to spread the forces of the crash, to reduce head and chest injury. It is considered “supplementary” to the lap/shoulder belts because it enhances the protection the belt system offers in frontal crashes. Also known as SRS - supplemental restraint system; SIR - supplemental inflatable restraint; SIPS - side impact protection system; IC - inflatable curtain; SIAB - side impact air bag) 

Armrest (child seat): A U-shaped bar encircling the child on older models of child restraints; not connected to the shoulder straps and not part of the system intended to restrain the child. Not a shield. No longer allowed on child restraints meeting FMVSS No. 213 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard). 

Armrest (vehicle): Found in the middle of the back seat of some vehicles. These usually pull down from the top of the vehicle seat back cushion. Some child seat manufacturers recommend against placing a rear facing child seat in a seating position which has a pull down armrest. 

Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR): A safety belt retractor that locks maintaining a fixed seat belt (lap belt) length during use. Good for child seat installation. 

Automatic Restraint: Passive restraint that requires no action by the user; (e.g., shoulder or lap/shoulder belts that automatically wrap around the occupant; air bags). 

Base (of a child seat): The base of a child seat is the lower portion that rests on the vehicle seat. A detachable base that comes with many infant seats is used to permit a fixed installation into the vehicle allowing the chilc seat to be taken in and out of the vehicle without having to do a new installation each time. 

Belt Anchor Points: Fixed locations where the safety belt's latchplate and buckle are anchored to the vehicle structure. 

Belt Path/Route: The manufacturer's required place where the safety belt passes around or through the child restraint. 

Belt-Positioning Booster Seat (BPB): A platform that raises the child (provides a taller sitting height) so adult lap and shoulder belts fit better; some have high backs as well. Never use with a lap belt only across the child. 

Belt-Shortening Clip or Heavy Duty Locking Clip: A heavy duty locking clip intended for use to shorten lap belts which have emergency locking retractors (ELRs) for use with a child restraint. Not to be confused with a standard locking clip. Heavy duty locking clips can only be obtained through a vehicle manufacturer. 

Belt Webbing: A term used to refer to the vehicle seat belt material. 

Booster Seats: Are intended to be used as a transition to lap and shoulder belts by older children who have outgrown convertible seats (over 40 pounds). They are available in high backs, for use in vehicles with low seat backs or no head restraints, and no-back; booster bases only. 

Buckle: The locking mechanism of the vehicle belt and child safety seat buckle/latchplate system. Buckles are typically mounted/attached to fabric webbing and/or by metal or plastic stalks. 

Car Seat: Common term for a specially designed device that secures a child in a motor vehicle, meets federal safety standards, and increases child safety in a crash. 

Chest Clip: The chect clip is the device on the harness straps of the child safety seats used to position the straps properly on the child. 

Child Safety Seat/Child Restraint: A crash tested device that is specially designed to provide infant/child crash protection. A general term for all sorts of devices including those that are vests or car beds rather than seats. 

Children With Special Transportation Needs: Children whose physical, medical, or behavioral condition makes the use of particular, often specially-designed, restraints necessary. Cinching Latchplate: (also known as lightweight locking latchplate) Found on some continuous loop lap and shoulder belts. A latchplate which has a sliding lock/cinch feature intended to keep the vehicle belt at a fixed length for child seat installation. 

Combination Child Seat/BPB: A type of forward facing child restraint that is used with an internal harness system to secure a child up to 40 pounds and then, with the removal of the internal harness, is used as a high back belt positioning booster (BPB) seat. 

Combination (Switchable) ELR/ALR Retractor: A safety belt retractor that can be operated in the emergency locking mode for adults and switched to the automatic locking mode for use with a child safety seat. 

Compliance Tests: Rigorous crash and static testing done to assure that manufacturers meet required federal standards (in this case, FMVSS 213). Performance requirements established by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

Continuous-Loop Lap/Shoulder Belt: A three-point belt that uses one continuous piece of webbing, that slides through a latch plate. It is connected at one end to the vehicle at the anchor point and the other to a retractor system. 

Convertible Child Safety Seat/Restraint: A child restraint that can be used in more than one mode; usually rear-facing for infants and forward-facing for toddlers. 

CPS: Child Passenger Safety. elr

Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR): Allows the belt to move freely, locks only when the vehicle or occupant slows quickly/abruptly or stops suddenly. Will not secure a child safety seat. An ELR may be switchable, converting from an emergency locking to automatic locking system. 

Fixed Latchplate: Latchplate is permanently sewn/attached to the lap belt to or the combination lap and shoulder belt. 

FMVSS 213: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that pertains to all restraint systems intended for use as crash protection in vehicles for children up to 50 pounds. 

FMVSS No. 225: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that pertains to the standardized vehicle anchorage systems for child safety seats (upper and lower) that are independent of the vehicle seat belts. 

Foam Noodle: This is a is a foam rod or tube about 4-5 inches in diameter and five feet long; these are found in pool and toy stores. Cut off a piece the width of the child seat base and use to raise the base of the seat to obtain a 45 degree angle. A rolled up towel or newspapers, etc., serve the same purpose. 

Forward-Facing Child Restraint: A restraint that is intended for use only in the forward-facing position for a child at least age one and at least 20 pounds up to 40 pounds. 

Free Sliding Latchplate: Type of latch plate that has no lock feature to securely position the latchplate along the belt webbing. The latchplate “freely” slides along the belt. This type of system must have a locking retractor to keep the belt at a fixed length for child seat installation or it must be used with a regular locking clip. 

Frontal Air Bag: A frontal air bag is one installed in the dashboard. 

Harness Retainer Clip: A plastic tie or clasp that holds the two shoulder straps close together over the child's chest at armpit level; intended to keep harness straps in position on the shoulders. Used for pre-crash positioning. 

Harness Strap: This refers to the child seat straps used to secure the child into the safety seat. 

Harness Threading: Harness straps should be in lowest slots for rear facing infants (at or below shoulder level); in top slots for forward facing use (at or above shoulder level). Always refer to the child seat manufacturers instructions for proper location. 

Heavy Duty Locking Clip (HDLC) or Belt Shortening Clip: A flat, H-shaped metal clip, intended for shortening a lap belt with an emergency locking retractor so it will secure a child restraint. Can also be used to prevent webbing from sliding through a sliding latch plate. Heavy Duty Locking Clips can only be obtained from a vehicle manufacturer. 

Infant-Only Restraint: A restraint designed for use only by a baby (usually weighing less than 17-22 pounds) in a semi-reclined, rear-facing position. 

Integral/Integrated Child Seat: A child-sized, forward facing restraint or belt-positioning booster built into a vehicle seat. Some have a full harness and hold children over 20 pounds; others are belt-positioning boosters for use with the adult lap and shoulder belts. 

Lap Belt: A safety belt anchored at two points, for use across the occupant's thighs/hips. 

Lap/Shoulder Belt: A safety belt that is anchored at three points and restrains the occupant at the hips and across the shoulder; also called a “combination belt”. 

LATCH: Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (new acronym for standardized vehicle anchorage system). 

Latchplate: The part of the buckle mechanism that slides into the buckle; usually the part that affects the length of the belt. Switchable latchplates have a lock button to allow the seatbelt to be locked around the child safety seat. 

Locking Clip: A flat H-shaped metal clip intended to fasten together belt webbing (lap and shoulder portion) at a sliding latch plate, to prevent the webbing from sliding through. Typically the clip which comes attached with most child safety seats. Should be fastened just above the latch plate. Cannot be used in place of a Heavy Duty Locking Clip. 

Locking Latchplate: A latch plate that holds the lap belt snug after it has been adjusted. Type of latchplate that contains a metal bar on the underside of the hardware that “locks” the belt in position. 

Lower Anchorage System: New method to affix Child Restraint System (CRS) to vehicles independent of the vehicle seat belts. 

Manual Seat Belt: A seat belt that must be fastened and adjusted by the occupant, often found in the rear center seating position. 

Model Year (MY): Date of manufacture of either a vehicle or a child restraint system. 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): The federal agency that sets performance requirements for motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment such as child restraints. 

Overhead Shield: See “Tray Shield”. 

Passenger-Air Bag: An air bag that is in the right front part of the passenger compartment. It is larger than the driver bag and would restrain either center or right-front occupants. Air bags are a supplement to the use of seat belts and designed to protect adult occupants in frontal crashes. 

Rear-Facing Infant Seat: Type of child restraint system that is specifically meant for use by children from birth up to approximately 20 pounds used in the rear-facing mode only. 

Retractor: A mechanism that rolls up the unused webbing of the safety belt when it is not in use and takes up slack around the user. 

Seat Belt: The webbing, anchor and buckle system that restrains the occupant and/or child safety seat in the vehicle. 

Seat Belt Positioning Devices: These are products marketed and sold to adjust the vehicle seat belt to fit a child. There are no federal safety standards for these products. NHTSA recommends the use of child safety seats and booster seats instead of these products. 

Seat Bight/Seat Crack: The intersection between the bottom vehicle seat cushion and the back cushion. 

Sewn-On Latchplate or Fixed Latchplate: Latch plate is permanently sewn to the lap or lap and shoulder belt. 

Shell: The molded plastic structure of the child restraint. In some models, the shell is attached to or reinforced by a metal bar or frame. 

Shield Booster Seat: A platform that raises the child and positions a small convex shield across the lap and lower abdomen to restrain the child. A vehicle lap belt restrains the booster seat. Some models have removable shields and covert to a belt-position booster seat(BPB). 

Shoulder Belt Positioners or Comfort Guides: Devices (some built in and some add-ons) that can be used to reposition shoulder belts so they fit across the shoulder rather than across the neck. Aftermarket belt positioners are not currently tested by NHTSA. 

Shoulder Harness Slots: Slots in the back of the child restraint through which the shoulder straps are routed. 

Side Impact Air Bags: Provide additional chest protection to adults in many side crashes. Children who are seated in close proximity to a side air bag may be at risk of serious or fatal injury if the air bag deploys. Check with the vehicle dealer or vehicle owner's manual for information about danger to children. 

Sliding Latchplate: A latchplate that moves freely on a continuous loop of vehicle belt webbing. 

Stroller System: A combination of child safety seat and stroller frame/wheels allowing the child safety seat to be removed from the vehicle and attached to the stroller frame for stroller usage. 

Switchable Retractor (ELR/ALR): Are designed for adults to use the emergency locking retractor (ELR) and children in safety seats to use the automatic locking retractor (ALR). Check the vehicle belt for a label describing the switchable function in addition to the information provided in the vehicle owners manual. Some convert from ELR to ALR by pulling the belt all the way out of the retractor, as it rewinds, it should lock and hold at the appropriate length. 

T-Shield: Part of a restraint system in a child safety seat; a roughly triangular or “T” shaped pad that is attached to the shoulder harness straps, fits over the child's abdomen and hips and buckles between the legs. 

Tether Anchor: Attachment point in vehicle for child safety seat tether strap. Refer to vehicle owner's manual regarding anchor location. 

Tether Strap: An additional belt that anchors the child safety seat top to the vehicle frame; keeps the restraint from tipping forward on impact; can provide an extra margin of protection. Can be optional or factory installed. A tether strap is typically available on most child safety seats manufactured after September 1, 1999. 

Tilt-lock tether strap adjuster: Tether can be tightened or loosened after installation in the vehicle without unhooking or re-threading the strap. 

Tray Shield: Part of a restraint system in a child safety seat; a wide, padded surface that swings down in front of the child's body, attached to shoulder straps and crotch buckle. Looks like a padded armrest, but is an integral part of the harness system. 

Vest: A child restraint system that has shoulder straps, hip straps (and sometimes) a crotch strap. Can be specially made to order according to a child's chest measurement, etc. Must be used along with the vehicle belt system. 

Whiplash Injury: An injury to the neck usually caused by sudden whipping of the head backward during a rear impact collision.

CHILD SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEMS (CSRS)

The Guideline for the Safe Transportation of Pre-school Age Children in School Buses dated February 1999 from the NHTSA recommends that all pre-school age children in school buses are safest when transported in child safety restraint systems (CSRSs) that meets FMVSS 213, Child Restraint Systems, and are correctly attached to the seats.
(See NHTSA - Proper Use of CSRSs on School Buses)

As defined by the NHTSA -"A Child Safety Restraint System is any device (except a passenger system lap seat belt or lap/shoulder seat belt), designed for use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position a child who weighs less than 50 pounds."

The NHTSA is assuming that children weighing less then 50 pounds are pre-school age. This is not true. There are many children in Kindergarten, 1st grade and even 2nd grade who weigh less than 50 pounds. Our daughter, for instance, who is in 1st grade, weighs only 39 pounds. Restraint systems, just as airbags do, must be fitted to size, not by age or grade. The cost needs to be investigated. (See Appendix B-9)

HOW CAN DRIVER BE ASSURED THAT ALL SEAT BELTS ARE SECURED PROPERLY? "... He is only expected to make a reasonable effort to remind the students to buckle up as they enter the bus.  Before pulling away from school at the end of the day, driver can walk down the aisle and check quickly.  It does not add any time.  Even if a student unbuckles his belt after the driver checks, he still remains seated correctly in his seat because he/she doesn't want to get caught.  This makes for much better discipline and certainly affords the student the optimum protection form the compartmentalization that is provided for him without a seatbelt." (Carol Fast, 1984)

WILL THE DRIVER BE HELD LIABLE FOR STUDENTS FAILING TO WEAR SEATBELTS?

"Concerns regarding liability in relation to "duty of care" are removed by simply including the following language in written policies.  Since 1987 New York has required the installation of seat belts in all new school buses.  The state of Minnesota authorizes lap belts and/or lap shoulder belts installed in new school buses.  Regarding liability, laws in both states include the following language: 

No school district, bus operator, or employee or volunteer is liable because a bus passenger was injured when not wearing a safety belt. No immunity is provided for failure to:

(1) maintain in operating order equipment required by law, rule, or district policy; or

(2) comply with applicable statute, rule or district policy.

In a civil action, none of the above parties is liable for failing to assist a child with using a safety belt." - (Bus driver lobbyists support seatbelts -  February 2, 2001- http://www.sihope.com/~kjob/pass/Busdriverlobbyistssupport_sea.htm)  - 11/22/04 Hyperlink no longer active. PASS website removed per Dr. Alan Ross 

MYTH: LAP BELTS CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD

1989, Special Report 222: "Improving School Bus Safety"- A comprehensive study by the National Research Council, an operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Special Report 222 concludes, "Seat belts, when properly used on large, post-1977 buses, are not inherently harmful and may reduce the likelihood of death or injury to passengers involved in school bus crashes by up to 20%.

It is unfortunate that the following federally-funded study was flawed with inconsistencies and insufficient data in its summary of findings and kept this old myth alive.

The last report to Congress from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was in April of 2002 (School Bus Safety: Crashworthiness Research).  In this report Paragraph 3.2.2 Belt Use in School Bus Crashes, there was ". . . insufficient data to make any determinations as to the effect on belt system use on preventing or minimizing injuries to the passengers."  (Emphasis added)  

Also, in Paragraph 3.2.5 Occupancy and Injuries in School Bus Crashes, "Of the over 550 passengers in these vehicles, nearly 300 reported some level of injury . . . There were about 30 moderate and about 30 serious to fatal injuries in these crashes.  Further analyses indicate these approximately 60 more severe injuries were caused during left side impacts followed by frontal crashes." (Emphasis added)  

In Paragraph 8.4.2 Misuse of Lap Belt Restraint Systems it reads "Lap belt restraint systems can potentially be misused by placing the restraint too high up on the waist."  "There is no injury criterion currently available to evaluate the potential for abdominal injury. . ."  ". . . the resulting increase in potential abdominal injury is speculative." (Emphasis added)  

The following concern was a major stumbling block for advocates for seat belts in automobiles, but the overwhelming evidence that seat belts save lives and reduces the risk of injury overcame this obstacle.  

Paragraph 8.5.3 Concern for Abdominal Loading with Lap Belt Restraint Systems reads "When properly positioned, lap belts restrain occupants by loading them across the pelvis. When improperly positioned, due to misfit or misuse, this load can be transmitted to the occupant through the soft abdomen, rather than across the hard structure of the pelvis, this has been shown to produce serious to fatal injuries in automotive crashes." (Emphasis added)  

The following paragraphs are excerpted from Seatbelts For School Buses Version 3.01, 20 July 1996) by Stephen A. Langford, Ph.D

"Bus-Manufacturers' Lobby and History of Disinformation

". . .So-called quotes from doctors and medical associations against the use of lap belts because they may 'damage young children's abdomens' have been rebutted by the doctors and associations themselves" (From School Bus Fleet / June--July 1984, "A Misleading Safety Record," Carol Fast [Founder of NCSSB]).

". . .Currently a great deal of misinformation is being circulated to oppose the installation of seat belts in school buses. Either by misunderstanding or by design, the above studies are being misquoted or quoted out of context. Costs have been widely exaggerated and dangers implied. For example, in the recent [February--March 1984] SCHOOL BUS FLEET 'Open Letter to Ralph Nader,' on the theme 'a little learning is a dangerous thing,' the editorial claimed that the UCLA study showed that the skeletal structure of five- to seven-year olds can't stand the forces as their bodies slam forward against the belts. Not only did the UCLA study never mention the subject, but the major medical organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Physicians for Automotive Safety and the American Association for Automotive Medicine (a group often misquoted to their great distress) strongly disagree. They all favor the use of seat belts for school age children" (From School Bus Fleet / June--July 1984, "The Medical Case for Seat Belts on School Buses," Arthur Yeager, D.D.S.).

It is no secret, that as with any piece of safety equipment, its proper use is crucial to its effectiveness and may cause injuries if used incorrectly.  Training and education are necessary to achieve maximum benefits and avoid potential harm.

In Paragraph 8.2.1 Keep Passengers in Seats the following reads "A significant advantage of a belt restraint system is its ability to keep a passenger within the protective boundaries of a compartmentalized seat.  This can be a potentially significant factor in some rollover and/or secondary impact crash scenarios."

PROPONENTS        UP

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 1992 - Position Statement
American Academy of Pediatrics, 1984
American Association of Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery
American College of Emergency Physicians, 1987
American College of Preventative Medicine, 1984
American Medical Association, 1984
Cable News Network (CNN), 1998
Center for Auto Safety (CAS), 1984, 1985
Clarkstown Parent Teacher Association, 1988
College of Preventive Medicine
Connecticut Association of Nonprofits
CT Fire Marshall's Association
Great Britain, 1998
National Coalition for Seatbelts on School Buses (NCSSB)
National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), 1985, 1998 - Resolution
National Safety Town Center (NSTC)
National School Safety Center (NSSC)
New Jersey Board of Education
New Jersey Institute of Technology, 1989
People Advocating Seat Belt Safety
Physicians for Automotive Safety, 1980
Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1985
State of California, 1999
State of Florida, 1999
State of Louisiana, 1999
State of New Jersey, 1992
State of New York, 1987

OPPONENTS        UP
10th National Conference on School Transportation, 1985
Florida Dept. of Education, Pupil Transportation Unit, 1997
National Academy of Sciences, Transportation Research Board, 1989
National Association for Pupil Transportation
National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, 1995
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1997
National Safety Council, 1986
National School Transportation Association, 1984
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
New Hampshire School Transportation Association
New York Association for Pupil Transportation
Ontario School Bus Operators Association, 1995
Province of Ontario Ministry of Transportation
Student Transportation Association of Massachusetts
Thomas Built Buses, Inc.
Transport Canada

SEAT BELTS ON SCHOOL BUSES        UP

State Law:        UP
California – 1999 (California just mandated the lap-shoulder belts in all it's new buses beginning in 2005.)
Florida - 1999
Louisiana - 1999
New York – (1987- Leader in transportation safety – far exceeds Federal Standards)
New Jersey (1992- the first state in the nation to mandate school bus safety as law)

Local Communities:        UP
Newton – 2002 (Bid specs based on "New York standard" attached)
Acton/Boxboro (over 10 yrs)
Northboro/Southboro (at least 5-7 yrs. - maybe more)

Other MA Communities:        UP
Burlington