Do your schoolbuses have seatbelts?

[ADisneyQueen]

Last year in NY, my DDs bus had seatbelts. Now we are in PA and the bus younger DD was on for a kindergarten orientation had no seatbelts. Older DD is very upset and doesn't want to ride the bus. We always stress the improtance of seatbelts. Is this a state by state law?

 

[mickeyboat]

Ours do, but I don't think it is a state law. Most of the older kids don't wear them.

Denae

 

[monarchsfan16]

I've only seen seat belts in the first seats on busses here in NH. The bus drivers usually use those seats for their little kids' car seats, but that's the only place I've seen seat belts, and it's only been the car seats that I've seen the seat belts used on. Never seen them used by students

 

[RachelEllen]

I'm sure the main reason most schoolbuses don't have belts is financial, but if it makes you feel better, there are so real differences between car and bus accidents.

School buses are statisically much safer than your car. Bus accidents, in general, have much lower fatality rates than car accidents. And quick evaculation is more neccesary. If belts were installed, small children often misuse shoulder belts. Misused shoulder belts and lap belts on their can both increase injury rates in accidents.

 

[Beth76]

I don't think ours do, but I would have to ask my son. I'm not worried about it because our school is a half mile away in the neighborhood. The speed limit is 25 the whole way there. I suppose if I lived further out and the bus had to go on the highway I would feel differently.

 

[monarchsfan16]

School buses are statisically much safer than your car. Bus accidents, in general, have much lower fatality rates than car accidents. And quick evaculation is more neccesary. If belts were installed, small children often misuse shoulder belts. Misused shoulder belts and lap belts on their can both increase injury rates in accidents.

This is true. I've been in multiple bus accidents in my life, and have been in other situations where I had to evacuate quickly. The bus, in all the accidents held up much better than the cars involved, and no one was hurt. If the bus had rolled, that might have been a different story, but most bus accidents are between a bus and a car and don't involve rolling. Evacuating quickly would have been more of a challenge with a seatbelt, because when the bus is on fire, or has so much fuel leaking from it that everyone is panicking that it might explode; you're too panicy to be able to deal with a seatbelt

 

[packetminnie]

No seatbelts here. I don't know of any school districts around here (metro Kansas City) that have them on their buses.

 

[SeeDisney]

Coming from Delaware, no seatbelts.

 

[jennyl772003]

I am pretty sure DS schools' busses don't have seat belts. He rides the short bus though, which does have them.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I don't think they do. I'll have to ask them this afternoon. Good question.

 

[aunt kelly]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an interesting article on its website discussing the use of seat belts on school buses. Here is the link:http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/sit...CM1000002c567798RCRD&overrideViewName=Article

 

[disneymama73]

Nope. No seatbelts here.

 

[frndofpooh]

Our busses do not have them and when DS had to get on it for the first time he was really worried. With lots of reassurance he got over it.

A couple of years ago, DS's bus was in an accident when its driver went over the yellow line. Only one child was hurt and it was minor. At that point, lots of parents questioned the "no-seatbelt" thing and the transportation office assured us that buses are actually safer without them. That being said, they don't let busses use the interstate here (unless it's a field trip), citing safety issues and the lack of seatbelts,

 

[horseshowmom]

I'm sure the main reason most schoolbuses don't have belts is financial, but if it makes you feel better, there are so real differences between car and bus accidents.

School buses are statisically much safer than your car. Bus accidents, in general, have much lower fatality rates than car accidents. And quick evaculation is more neccesary. If belts were installed, small children often misuse shoulder belts. Misused shoulder belts and lap belts on their can both increase injury rates in accidents.

Our state doesn't have belts due to the combination of the reasons listed by RachelEllen.

 

[TurboKitty]

Our buses in the suburbs of St Louis have seatbelts, but most of the kids don't use them.

I know because my DD used to ride the bus with her typically developing peers to elementary school, and when the safety harness for her wasn't available, the bus driver would dig around in the crevice of the seat and produce a safety belt for her to wear.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I'm pretty sure they don't have them around here as well.

 

[Becky2005]

The only busses here that have seatbelts are the smaller special ones and they DO enforce that those are worn.

The regular large ones don't have seatbelts.

 

[dsanner106]

not in Michigan or georgia

Drew

 

[ticktock]

In Jacksonville, Fl most of our buses were replaced this year and the new buses DO have seat belts. I have never heard of an incident (and the posted article says the same) were having seat belts caused any harm as another poster mentioned. I am glad of the new buses and seat belts but I'd rather they had spent the money on hiring quality bus drivers. The ones here are terrible and terrifying.

 

[Beth76]

Our buses in the suburbs of St Louis have seatbelts, but most of the kids don't use them.

Hi neighbor! Which district are you in? We're in Rockwood and use Laidlaw. I was just looking through the saftey packet they sent home and there was no mention of seatbelts. And I'm pretty sure my son said there aren't seat belts.