![]() ![]() He said they now expect to wear lap-shoulder belts, so it was not difficult at all. Later, I asked the official if it was difficult to get students to buckle up. Soon, every driver in this particular district wanted their buses equipped with safety belts. Initially, only a few drivers wanted to drive buses containing restraints however, as others noticed the behavioral improvements in students as a result of the restraints, they also began requesting buses with lap-shoulder belts. Because officials in this particular district have seen a reduction in bullying, student attendance and retention has also improved. View Gallery: October political cartoons from the USA TODAY NetworkĪdditionally, bullying - which can occur onboard school buses - has decreased substantially. This behavioral improvement has also considerably reduced driver distraction. ![]() Because students in his district are required to buckle up, cases related to discipline issues have reduced by 90 percent. Those that were belted in remained safely restrained.Īfter the test was completed, one supervisor who began phasing in safety belts on all buses in his school district five years ago informed me that the benefits of restraints go well beyond the obvious improvement in safety. For those unbelted, the crash proved to be fatal. In this scenario, crash test dummies were both belted and unbelted. During this simulation, a semi driven at 35 miles per hour hit the side of a bus fitted with cameras and other data collection equipment. I recently observed a simulated school bus accident in Indiana that yielded all too real outcomes. Incidents like these often force parents to wonder, “Why do we let our children leave the safety of our family vehicle where their car seat or lap-shoulder belt ensures they are protected for a school bus without any type of restraint system at all?” The argument against school bus lap-shoulder belts wears thin when one considers that there are about 20,000 injuries on buses across the country every year. The school bus is the only vehicle on the road today for which a lap-shoulder belt is not federally mandated. The Lap and Shoulder Belt bill may provide a solution to resolve this difficult problem. Recent accounts of school bus driver shortages across the country are not unique to a particular area in fact, these shortages can be found right here in Tennessee.ĭriving a school bus is a great responsibility that is filled with stress and distraction and is also prone to criticism. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |