Seat Belts in School Buses: Necessity or Hazard?

Editorial #3

"Click it or ticket." That's the slogan for the Nebraska seat belt law. But what about the vehicles that transport hundreds of children to and from school nearly every day? As of now, Nebraska school buses are not equipped with seat belts. This issue recently came before Nebraska lawmakers when they began debating whether or not seat belts should be installed in school buses.

According to an article in the Kearney Hub, KPS Transportation Supervisor Jim Catterson said, “It’s going to be quite an issue. The feds have done all the testing, and they don’t recommend putting seat belts in. But all the states are going to have them pretty soon. Parents will want them.”

The idea of installing seat belts in school buses is far from a fresh one. According to an article published online by the Canada Safety Council, in 1984, Transport Canada crash tested three different school buses (one small bus, one van-type bus and one large bus). Each contained unbelted and belted test dummies. The tests indicated that the use of a lap belt on forward-facing seats could increase the risk of head injuries during a severe frontal collision. In a head-on collision the occupant's head could hit the seat in front, resulting in severe or fatal head and neck injuries.

Further investigation showed that the combination lap and shoulder belts would require stiffer seats, which could increase injury to unbelted students. Moreover, the shoulder belts increased the chance of abdominal injuries because of children slipping down in their seats. Tests showed children would slip down, risking injuries to organs covered by the lap belts. Similar tests were done with similar results in 1986 and 1999.

Unfortunately, too many people might hear "seat belts" and automatically think "safety" but, as the tests show, this is not necessarily the case. Obviously this is an issue that has been given serious, long-term thought and put through continuous testing, but until a safe way to install seat belts in school buses can be found that won't increase potentially fatal injuries, this isn't an issue that should be rushed.