There are several reasons for the lack of seatbelts in school buses. The countries that use the greatest number of school buses are the US and Canada. Public transit is frequently used elsewhere.
Canada does not mandate the use of seatbelts in school buses.
Small school buses (<10,000 lb) in the US are required to have seat belts, while larger buses are not. This stems from the belief that larger vehicles offer an increased degree of protection because of their size and design. The passengers in smaller buses, closer in size to cars and light trucks, are deemed to be at more risk in accidents.
Seat belts are not required on these vehicles, because it is believed their design provides sufficient structural integrity and protection for the passengers. Some jurisdictions mandate the use of seatbelts, but these are few.
The following information was obtained from Transport Canada, "Review of Bus Safety Issues - School Bus Passenger Protection":
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"There are few instances where seat belts would prevent injury in school buses. Even in those few instances it is not clear that seat belts are the answer. Good information for parents and other interested persons is necessary to support discussion on seat belts for school buses.
Seat belts for school buses have been a public issue since seat belts were widely accepted as a major safety solution for cars, occupants of which were, in the early 1970s, being killed at the rate of nearly 7000 per year in Canada. Many parents, parents’ associations and interested people promote school bus seat belts consistent with mandatory use of child restraints and seat belts in cars, which have contributed to the reduction of car occupant deaths to less than 3000 per year.
In many instances seat belts would not have prevented the serious injuries that occurred in school buses. These involve direct intrusion into the bus of an object such as another vehicle or, for example, a steel plate from a passing truck. There are, however, individual instances where seat belts could have prevented injury. They involve rollover, ejection and impact with other passengers or the bus interior.
There are, then, cases where seat belts could enhance safety. The U.S. has installed seat belts in small school buses (less than 4536 kg GVWR) since the mid 1970s. U.S. states New York and New Jersey install seat belts in all buses and Etobicoke in Canada also has them in all buses. New Jersey has specific requirements for seat belt use as well as their installation.
The opportunity for a decision whether to install seat belts arose in the mid 1970s when car seat belt use was becoming mandatory in Canada and school bus occupant protection standards MVSS 217, 220, 221, 222 and 301 were being developed. Wide based consultation led to the conclusion that it would not be practical for Transport Canada to require seat belts to be installed in school buses. This conclusion included small school buses (less than 4536 Kg GVWR) even though the U.S. did then, and does now, require seat belts in those small buses.
Why have seat belts not been required in Canadian school buses?
Firstly the target cases for safety benefit are few, on average less than one fatality and possibly two or three serious injuries per year. Seat belts are not necessarily the solution for those cases. The findings of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the National Academy of Science in late 1980s studies could not support seat belts, despite some years of experience with small school buses so equipped and large school buses not. The NHTSA concludes that "School bus crash data show that a Federal requirement for belts on buses would provide little, if any, added protection in a crash".
Secondly, the comprehensively designed passenger protection system introduced in 1980 by CMVSS 217, 220, 221, 222 and 301 works2. Transport Canada testing shows that superimposed seat belts introduce different potential hazards, such as neck and facial injury, unless seats are redesigned for a different dynamic. The testing carried out to date has not considered all ages, sizes and physical developments of children riding in school buses, the smaller and younger of whom would be recommended to use child restraints in cars. This becomes more of an issue as preschool children seem to be increasingly using school bus transport.
Seat belts could possibly diminish the existing passenger protection by being a potential cause of injury in a severe impact, for which the present passive passenger protection was designed and is effective. Some advocate three point seat belts to minimize such potential. Three point seat belts are significantly more complex and have their own safety problems, such as ease of use, which is necessary to encourage wearing, and safe fit for a wide variety of passengers.
Thirdly, even the best seat belts enhance safety only if properly worn. The feasibility of overall seat belt management is therefore a safety issue. A local school board deciding to install seat belts without a comprehensive program to ensure their proper use would, in the event of a potentially tragic crash happening in that jurisdiction, fail to realize the intended benefit.
Experience where seat belts are available, such as in Etobicoke, suggests that very young children will use them as instructed but that use diminishes into the secondary school age. New Jersey, with its mandated seat belt use, believes its use rate to be better than 50%. One major school bus crash since requiring seat belt use was inconclusive in providing information about the benefits of seat belts.
Cost of initial seat belt installation is almost certainly a minor factor compared with the cost of a new bus. Operational implications are more significant."
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Such are the words of Transport Canada, whether you agree with them of not. I am not completely convinced. There is potential for a small safety improvement. On the other hand, this would place a legal responsibility on the operator of the bus to ensure that all students use the seat belts properly. Since drivers are unable to keep children quiet, I'm not certain how effective they would be in keeping them belted. Nor would the students who use public transit be protected in any way.
The number of deaths in the most serious school bus accident that I have encountered would not have been lower if seat belts had been provided. Belts don't do much if you are hit by a train (after vandals had tampered with signals at a level crossing).
