What is Answerbag?

Ask questions and share your knowledge with the world here on Answerbag. Get the best answers where there are no duplicate questions and questions are always open - our community of over 1,142,000 will find your answer!

Join For Free!
 

Why Are There No Seatbelts on Buses?

Thursday, July 23, 2009
Related Tags: bus | buses | compartmentalization | belts | nhtsa
 

Instructions

Explanation

  • Step 1:
    The National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) has said that bus commuting is the safest method of travel. Buses are taller and heavier than regular vehicles and because of this are generally slower-moving. The administration maintains that the statistical likelihood is that most bus crashes will occur with the front or rear being impacted, rather than the side. School buses are designed with the principle of compartmentalization in mind, aligning rows with padded seats and cushioned backs, so in the event of a crash, the padding softens the blow. Seat belts would have the passenger jerk forward at the waist, most likely resulting in neck or abdominal injuries.

Safety Concerns

  • Step 1:
    If seat belts were required, the NHTSA believes compartmentalization would be lost in the exchange to stiffer seats the belts would require. Also, because the human body has been shown to naturally slide downward during a collision, they believe seat belts would likely cause internal injuries and complicate rescue efforts. In the event of a fire, seat belts would be an obstacle.

Economic Concerns

  • Step 1:
    If a law were enacted, the options would be to put seat belts on buses with the existing design or construct new buses that meet regulations. A 1998 cost estimate of school bus conversion based on the number of inventoried buses at the time had the tally at $1,800 a bus and $800 million overall. Some have made the point that making these changes would result in a financial blow to bus providers, raising the cost for the commuters and essentially limiting bus service.

Liability

  • Step 1:
    If a law were put into effect and someone did not comply and an accident did occur, the driver and operators of school buses would be held liable.

Compartmentalization Controversy

  • Step 1:
    The National Coalition for School Bus Safety and the National Parent-Teacher Association also expressed concern that resulted in a two-year investigation. A 1999 NHTSA study tested the results of test crashes from all angles with dummies designed to examine damage to key areas on the human body. The report analyzed 31 crashes, but only nine of them were front end. The results on side crashes did not leave analysts confident about the safety factor. The compartmentalization principle was deemed ineffective when the tested school buses were not properly customized.

Resources


Related Content
About School Bus Safety
The most exciting moment in a child's life is also the moment every parent dreads. The child gets on the school bus and leaves for school on his own, without Mom or Dad to hold his hand and deposit...
School Bus Safety Laws
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2006 research study "Occupant and Pedestrian Fatalities in School Transportation Related Crashes" shows that an average of 20 school-age...
School Bus Seat Laws
Recently, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies reported that each year more than a quarter of the elementary and secondary school children in America are transported to and...
School Bus Safety Rules
In May 2003, a school bus carrying 48 students rolled onto its side and went down an embankment near Siloam Springs, Arkansas. A 14-year old girl was killed and at least 21 other students were...
Purpose of Wearing a Seatbelt
Federal, state and local laws in the United States tell you that you should wear your seat belt at all times when you're inside a moving motor vehicle. It's an important thing to know that these...