Time for school buses to have seat belts

Five to six children are killed in school bus crashes and more than 7,000 are injured each year, indicating that current school bus safety features are inadequate to fully protect children.

On Nov. 21, 2016, in a Chattanooga school bus crash, we all received a “wake-up call” when six children were killed.

Since 1986, Ohio school bus drivers are required to have seat belts.

Next spring, the Avon Lake School District has committed to equipping at least one new school bus with lap-shoulder seat belts when a final Board vote occurs.

The fully equipped bus will probably be used as a “highway travel bus” for student sporting events.

School districts and communities are participating in high stakes gambling every day children are sent flying down the highway at 70 mph in school buses without protective seat belts.

In a crash, unbelted children become airborne, are ejected from a bus or fly freely inside the cabin, especially when the bus rolls over or has a “side crash.”

Substantial research evidence exists that seat belts prevent injuries, reduce fatalities and improve behavior, e.g. decreased bullying. Seat belts are now required in cars, small school buses and new commercial motor-coaches.

Two federal safety agencies and many safety organizations recommend that all school buses have seat belts.

The installation of seat belts is estimated to cost around 3 cents per child per day.

Communities that have suffered a loss from a school bus accident will typically organize fund-raisers for the survivors, honor the dead and pass regulations to install seat belts but all these reactions offer little comfort that’s too late for parents. Seat belts in cars have saved hundreds of thousands of lives since 1968.

Now is the time to end the “40 year debate” about the effectiveness and value of seat belts. Rudolph J. Breglia Avon Lake