NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS UP TO DEC. 2003
School Buses Found Safer Than Vans
By Glen Johnson
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, June 9, 1999
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It may be
cheaper to transport students in vans instead of schools buses, but it's ``an economical
advantage purchased at the safety of children,'' according to the head of the National
Transportation Safety Board.
Wrapping up a special
investigation into four crashes involving ``nonconforming buses,'' Jim Hall, the board's
chairman, said Tuesday that the standard yellow bus provides better crash protection than
vans and should be the only type of vehicle used to take students to school and
school-related activities.
The crashes that were the subject
of the investigation occurred in 1998 and earlier this year in Sweetwater, Fla., Lenoir
City, Tenn., East Dublin, Ga., and Bennettsville, S.C. They killed nine people, including
eight students.
Investigators said the vehicle
damage would have been less and the injuries not as severe had the accidents involved
school buses, not a van or a ``specialty bus'' -- a slightly larger vehicle akin to an
airport rental car shuttle.
School buses, unlike standard
passenger vans, have special rollover protections and encase their occupants in a cocoon
of padded seats and seatbacks. They also have welds designed to keep them from splitting
open on impact.
In addition, school buses are
painted an eye-catching yellow and equipped with emergency exits, special warning lights
and movable arms that block students from walking directly in front of them. Many of the
protections date from a 1977 change in federal law, which was prompted by earlier
recommendations from the safety board.
A ``nonconforming bus'' is any
vehicle that can carry 10 or more people and is used to take students to school or
school-related activities, yet does not meet federal school bus standards.
Federal law prohibits car dealers
from selling vehicles that do not meet federal school bus regulations to schools that plan
to use them to transport children.
However, many states have
exemptions in their school bus laws for after-school, day care or church programs. Even
the federal government has lagged in developing rules for transporting children involved
in such activities as Head Start, the early-childhood education program.
The worst accident examined by
the safety board occurred on Feb. 16 in Bennettsville, S.C. Six children were killed,
including three who were thrown from the vehicle, when the 15-passenger van they were
riding in was struck by a tow truck.
On March 26, 1998, a 25-passenger
specialty bus taking students home after an academic competition was rammed by a
tractor-trailer in Lenoir City, Tenn., when the van's driver attempted a U-turn on a
highway. A teacher and a student were killed.
The East Dublin, Ga., accident
occurred on Dec. 8, 1998, when a 15-person van taking children to a Head Start program
collided with a pickup truck. One child was ejected and killed.
Another 15-person van was
involved in the Sweetwater, Fla., accident, when it was struck by a transit bus at an
intersection on March 25, 1998. Three children were ejected and suffered head injuries.
The five-member board only has
the power to make safety recommendations, not rules. In a unanimous vote, the board urged
the nation's governors to ensure that students are transported only in vehicles meeting
the school bus standards.
The board also urged the
Department of Health and Human Services to extend the same protection to children
participating in Head Start.
``The federal government needs to
practice what it preaches and it needs to start with Head Start,'' Hall said.
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press
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