Taken from:
http://www.wolfsbus.com/bus_safety_stats.htm
Bus Safety Stats
Data from the National Safety Council and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration Office of Motor Carriers show that the safety record of the intercity motorcoach industry is noteworthy.
National Safety Council statistics for the United States show consistently that intercity buses are safe and reliable. In an average year, more than 340 million bus passengers travel some 25 billion passenger miles. Out of all those billions of passenger miles, only four bus passenger fatalities were recorded by the National Safety Council in its 1996 edition of Accident Facts. That same edition showed more than 21,800 deaths in passenger automobiles, five on railroad passenger trains, and 159 on scheduled airlines.
Put another way, in an average year, there are 42,000 fatalities from motor vehicle accidents on the nation's highways. Of those 42,000, only 4 were intercity bus passengers in 1994.
A 10-year examination of bus passenger fatalities shows that, on an annual average, people are nearly twice as likely to die of a dog bite than in a bus crash.
The FHWA said in 1996 that intercity bus crashes account for one-tenth of one percent of all highway related crash fatalities.
The national out-of-service rate for intercity bus safety inspections is 9 percent for vehicles and 2 percent for drivers. These FHWA figures are for the period of January - August 27, 1997.
Sources:
Accident Facts, 1996 edition, National Safety Council; MCSAFE, March 1996 internal newsletter, U.S. Federal Highway Administration Office of Motor Carriers.
WHY BUSES DONT HAVE SEAT BELTS
The answer. Because they arent needed.
Thats not just the industrys answer. Its the answer which is offered by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the agency charged with vehicular safety and construction standards, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA is the federal agency which uses a safety belt at the foot of their letterhead which says "SAFETY BELTS SAVES LIVES." Its on their letter of August 19, 1992, in which they respond to the common inquiry by saying,
"NHTSA expressly determined that there is not a safety need for safety belts or another type of occupant crash protection at these seating positions (aboard commercial buses weighing more than 10,000 pounds)."
That message has been consistent. As late as December 1998, NHTSA spokespersons have repeated their belief that large buses simply wouldnt reap a safety benefit by placing seat belts throughout the seating compartment.
While the answer is quick and easy, understanding it in an era when "BUCKLE UP!" is a universal cry for millions of automobile motorist, is the tough part. To understand one part of the reason we need to look at the basic construction of a modern motorcoach.
Before we begin, we should also offer one important observation: the motor coach of today is the safest form of highway transportation available. By NTSBs own count, an average of six coach passengers are fatally injured each year over the 30 year span from 1968 to 1998. Compare that to highway death tolls ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 automobile passengers annually, and were faced with a basic question, "What problem would seat belts on coaches fix?"
What happens in a crash? The science.
First of all, please note that we use the word "crash" to describe vehicle collisions. While "accident" is the common term for most of us, it suggests that the collision happens without cause. "Crash" makes no such judgment; it simply describes the event.
In any vehicular crash, there are three collisions taking place. The first is the impact of the vehicle against something else, which causes a rapid deceleration impulse. The second collision is the impact of the person inside the vehicle against whatever object is there to stop him or her: a steering wheel, windshield or seat belt. The third collision is within the passenger, when organs slam against bones or other organs, causing most of the actual injuries.
Isaac Newton explained with his laws of physics that passengers will tend to keep going forward when a vehicle stops suddenly. But those laws also help us understand that there are vastly different forces at work when large and small objects collide with something or with one another. Its common knowledge that when a large object and a small object collide, the larger object wins. Less apparent is the fact that the "G forces" (one G is the force of gravity) exerted on the large object during a rapid deceleration are far less than those in the smaller object. A crash, which exerts a 20-G force on a 4,000-pound automobile, would exert less than a 7-G force on a 38,000 pound motorcoach.
Seat belts and air bags in automobiles are designed to accomplish one primary objective: to hold the passenger and the vehicle tightly together so that they react as a single object. That allows the much smaller passenger to take advantage of the much greater weight of the vehicle theyre riding in to reduce the G-forces at work on his or her body during impact. Todays NHTSA load rating for automobile seat belts is 20-Gs.
The construction part.
Regulators and highway safety experts dont require seat belts in buses because they recognize that existing bus design features work extremely well in protecting passengers from the vast majority of crash circumstances.
Passengers are made part of the vehicle in a bus by the seating systems ability to achieve "compartmentalization." What belts accomplish in autos, compartmentalization accomplishes in todays buses: it keeps the passenger "contained" during crashes, like eggs in a carton. In buses, passengers forward movement is severely limited by the seat ahead of them. In the most common form of bus crash - head-on or sideswipe - passengers essentially remain in the seated posture, striking the energy absorbing, high back seat ahead of them. The force of the crash is spread over their entire upper body before they drop back into their seats. Although the restraining effect of the forward seat is less immediate than what seat belts would be, the larger vehicles lowered deceleration impulse force reduces the immediacy of the restraint system. School bus crash tests conducted by Transport Canada, the Canadian counterpart of our Department of Transportation, clearly indicated that lap belted dummies received higher head injury scores than unbelted dummies in a head on bus collision. In a head on collision, a lap belted child in a school bus is thrown forward, but the belt holds the lower torso in place.
This puts the brunt of impact on the head and neck as they strike the rear of the seat in front of them. The backlash of the collision then forces the head and neck to snap backward. A situation which can cause very serious injury.
Todays motorcoaches are also built to absorb crash energies. Using a "monocoque" (a type of construction in which the outer skin carries a major part of stresses) or "unibody" design, coaches crush by small increments on impact. Rather than absorbing the entire crash impulse at the point of impact, monocoque construction allows crash forces to be distributed through the entire length of the body.
NOTE: Motorcoaches as discussed here refers to large over the road buses. Although most of what is explained here also applies to school buses, it must be noted that school buses are constructed differently from motorcoaches. NHTSA requires that school buses be built as very rigid boxes, which allow school buses to resist intrusions, rather than absorb crash energy.
Compartmentalization, as implemented in both over the road motorcoaches and school buses, also provides what might be the ideal "passive restraint" system; it delivers passenger protection without asking the passenger to take any action other than sitting in their seat. Air bags and automatic seat belts were the automotive industrys answer to the biggest problem with seat belts: people dont use them. As recently as January 1999, NTSB took a close look at automotive child restraint systems. It found that 62 percent of the cases where restraints were present but serious injuries still resulted, it was because the restraint device was not used, faulty or simply used incorrectly. This passive protection system requires no need for compliance or education on the part of passengers; its simply a natural function of the bus itself.
Is there more we could do? YES!
Compartmentalization, monocoque construction, energy absorbing high back seats and soft covered interior elements all contribute to passenger protection in todays buses. Investigations of fatal bus crashes over the past 20 years have shown that a passenger death usually occurs in one of two ways. First is a massive intrusion into the passenger space. The second most prevalent cause of death is by ejection. There is strong evidence that most crashes are survivable when passengers stay inside the vehicle. This has drawn attention to FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) #217 which determines construction standards for bus windows. In circumstances involving violent vehicle behavior, such as a rare roll over, the windows and latches required by FMVSS 217 may fail; the result can be passenger ejection. NHTSA has recently acknowledged that there is a need to review its window design mandate.
Likewise in school buses, the majority of deaths occurred outside of the bus, in a 10-foot perimeter known as "The Danger Zone." On average, the number of fatal injuries occurring outside of the bus is four times greater than the number inside the bus. A recent study reviewing school bus fatalities over a 10-year period found:
The greatest number of fatalities occurred by the right rear of the students own bus.
The second deadliest area was at the left front of the bus, which were caused by
passing motorist.
It is clear, in the arena of reducing fatal school bus fatalities, education is the answer. Educating school bus drivers, our children and most importantly, passing motorist. Motorists who are inattentive or ignorant of the laws concerning school buses, are the greatest hazard for children riding school buses today.
Todays environment.
From the time of our childs first ride home from the hospital, proper restraint is drummed into our consciousness. Buckle Up campaigns dating back 30 years have effectively convinced most people that belts are "The Answer." Emotions, not science has overtaken the debate about belts in buses. With recent testimony from safety experts that lap belts in school buses may actually present a greater hazard to young bodies, many belt advocates continue to lobby for seat belt regulations. In testimony before the NTSB during 1998, European officials (where seat belts have been mandated in buses for over 2 years) openly admitted that the installation of belts was a "political" decision, not one driven by safety research. To date no crash tests have been conducted using over the road buses.
To install a 20-G seat belt on todays motorcoaches could add another 10,000 pounds to the vehicle by forcing new securement structures. It would reduce cargo and seating space, cut fuel economy and severely limit seating configurations. Some of the same effects would apply to school buses, not to mention the added costs which would include, maintenance, repairs and a host of liability questions. A 1989 study by the National Academy of Science concluded that the money spent to install safety belts might be better spent on other safety measures that could save more lives and reduce more injuries.
The bottom line.
Safety, above all else, is the primary goal of Wolfs Bus Lines, the transportation industry and all parties involved in this debate. After all, safety is good business. The numbers substantiate our belief that the bus is the safest highway vehicle on the road today. But at the same time, we realize that things can be done to make todays vehicles even safer. The industry stands ready to promote safety enhancements when their value is proven. The fact remains; however, seat belts in buses are not mandated today because they clearly are not the answer. Any person who believes that the issue has just been overlooked by the U.S. Congress, NTSB, USDOT, NHTSA or a long list of government and safety agencies just hasnt examined the record.
Source :
United Motorcoach Association, 1999.
