NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007

It's a Matter of Safety
February 10, 2007

It's high time Alberta and other Canadian provinces caught up with Alabama when it comes to protecting kids.

Yes, that's right, Alabama - that southern state that's often trotted out as an example of backwoods attitudes.

Alabama has launched a governor's study group on school bus seatbelts in the wake of a crash in Huntsville that killed four kids and injured more than two dozen others.

Many people in that neck of the woods are saying those kids might be alive today if the bus had been outfitted with seatbelts.

That's a no-brainer. Every civilized society should require seatbelts on school buses and all buses for that matter.

Yet a school transportation official for Edmonton Public Schools admitted Alberta doesn't require buses to have belts.

Nor do other provinces.

Seatbelts, though, are mandatory for drivers and passengers in other vehicles in most progressive nations.

So why don't buses have such equipment when seatbelts are proven to save lives?

Apparently school boards are asked this question a lot.

Edmonton Public Schools has a long list of FAQs (frequently asked questions) on its website about safety, including an answer to why there are no seatbelts on buses.

"School buses are equipped with more safety equipment than any other vehicle. These safety features include well-padded, high-back, energy absorbing seats ..." the answer reads. "School buses have been proven to be the safest form of transportation for students when compared to any other mode of travel."

Really? Kids would be safer in a school bus than in, say, a Volvo or BMW equipped with seatbelts and multiple airbags? Kids would NOT be safer if they were actually belted in to the buses? Give me a break!

A U.S. group sees through that malarkey.

The National Coalition for School Bus Safety is pushing for seatbelts throughout the U.S., pointing out that the states of New Jersey, New York, California, Louisiana and Florida already have school bus seatbelt laws on the books.

Coalition president Dr. Alan Ross says it's ridiculous belts aren't mandatory on all school buses in North America. "They transport our most precious commodity, but the design of them hasn't changed in the last 40 years," says Ross.

"The general structure is top-heavy and prone to roll over," the dentist told me from his Connecticut office.

He's also concerned that buses have multiple blind spots and not enough escape hatches, and they're allowed to use flammable materials in seats that have been banned in passenger vehicles.

He also figures the four Alabama school bus crash victims might be alive today had they been wearing seat belts.

The coalition points out that an average of 20 kids are killed annually in the U.S. while riding school buses.

Last year, 22 kids were killed by being run over by their own buses, says Ross, suspecting blind spots were to blame.

School bus design doesn't use modern technology such as traction control or electronic warning devices that could warn a driver if he's about to back into a person, he says.

He figures school boards rely on outdated studies that claim belts aren't needed - and cash-strapped boards don't want to spend money for safer vehicles.

A long list of organizations supports belts for buses, including the American Medical Association, says Ross.

And he doesn't think much of claims by school boards that school buses are the safest mode of transportation.

Alabama seems to be on the road to change. I wonder when Alberta and other Canadian provinces are going to catch up?

By KERRY DIOTTE

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