Should School Buses have Seatbelts?
The past ten years have seen many studies done on this subject with still no clear cut resolve.
Without taking sides we should like to bring attention to a factor that never seems to considered in these studies...The School Bus Driver.
Here are some concerns:
The bus is suppose to hold not more than 71 students, which is an almost impossible situation to begin with, or three students per seat.
This begs the question; who is responsible for making sure the belts are used ?
Even if each student buckles up when they first take their seat, perhaps because the driver is watching and won't continue
on until he/she is sure the belt is in place.
What is there to insure that the belt will stay buckled, especially if it is one of
the across the lap types, with one belt per seat. Every time a student exits the bus is the driver going to have to
check that the belt has been rebuckled? That won't insure that it stays buckled, kids being who they are.
Now a worse case scenario. A bad accident and students are killed or injured and it is determined that seat belts were
not buckled, who is going to be held responsible.....The School Bus Driver?
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