2SAFESCHOOLS NOTES

National school bus safety study may be flawed

Some school bus safety experts say the study simply doesn't measure up to the reality of the school bus environment.

BY JAMES KRAEMERThe school bus seat belt issue is one I began to study at 2safeschools about one year ago. My research indicated there's as much or more emotion and politics than fact involved in this issue.

• About 50,000 school bus accidents occur every year and about 200,000 injuries occurred over the past few decades.

No agency, I could find, collects all the data or disseminates the data in the same way. Thus, school bus safety ranges from 4 times safer to over 2,000 times safer than family transportation, depending on when, where and how one collects and categorizes the data. For example, does a child ejected from the bus during a crash count as a death inside the bus?

Other issues include oversites skewing the results. In 1972 Accident Facts, an annual publication from the National Safety Council, reported that New Jersey had only 9 injuries on their school buses in that entire year. But Arthur Yeager, DMD, Co-founder of The Safety Lobby and a media consultant in Edison, NJ was aware of one school bus crash involving 45 injuries in New Jersey the same year. The same data errors show up across the nation. One possible explanation, according to Yeager, is those "responsible for collecting the information are the same individuals who are accountable for bus safety."

A study released in September (1999) by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is under intense fire from an abundance of safety experts, alleging the study simply doesn't measure up to the reality of the school bus environment. Kids simply do not sit in their seats in the manner proposed in the study for comparmentalization, an alleged school bus safety feature. Many sit sideways and backward in their seats, are in the aisle, sitting on books and legs, some even standing. Some states allow 20% over capacity on their buses, allowing the excess students to stand in the aisle. None of these variables, inescapably obvious to the industry, were included in the study.

Because of the failure of compartmentalization to protect children in school bus accidents, especially roll-overs and side impacts, Yeager recently sent a petition to Dr. Martinez, with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), demanding a recall of school buses lacking lateral and rollover occupant protection. Yeager's strategy may bring on a sudden rush to passing seatbelt legislation, since known defects significantly increase school and manufacture liability.

What about the safety of seat belts? In states using school bus seat belts not one occurrence in the NSTB's study proposing disabling injuries from seat belts were reported in those states to date. To the contrary numerous reports credited seat belts for reducing injuries and preventing ejections in school bus crashes and roll-overs. The list of doctors and organizations advocating for seat belts is huge compared to the transportation industries collection of organizations (including government and school bus manufactures) not in favor of seat belts.

2safeschools does not advocate for or against seat belts on school buses. Nor does 2safeschools object to seat belts on the large school buses when:

• They are installed on "new equipment," and only installed on older equipment when possible to install without expensive modifications;
  
• When installed their use is also required;
  
• Bus drivers are assured, by law and enforceable regulation, the authority to refuse to transport students refusing to follow directions, including the direction to buckle-up and remain buckled as required;
  
• Effective penalties are established for students (as well as school districts) failing to enforce safe and appropriate use of the passenger restraint equipment by students riding the school buses.

There should be no doubt that seat belts do save lives, but seat belts are of little or no benefit unless standards are in place to enforce their use.

The greatest safety device on any school bus is a properly trained and supported school bus driver.

Todays hidden heroes are the parents, kids and employers who support their school bus drivers efforts to help keep kids safe on the school buses. Such have every reason to expect lives will be saved - seat belts or no seat belts.

Make keeping kids safe the top priority on your school buses. (jk)

(NTSB study commentary, Rev. 10/25/99)

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