Governor's report: seat belts not cost-effective on buses

Credit: Jay Hare / jhare@dothaneagle.com

Children load the bus after school at Montana Street magnet School Monday afternoon.

By: Jim Cook | Dothan Eagle
Published: October 25, 2010

A recently-released report from Gov. Bob Riley’s office says seat belts are not cost-effective safety measures on school buses, and that other measures would work better and cost less in saving lives.

The report cites a three-year study conducted by the University of Alabama on bus safety, performed for the Governor’s Study Group on School Bus Seat Belts and the Alabama Department of Education. The project studied the use of lap/shoulder belts on large school buses.

The report found that since 1977 only five fatalities involving students riding in school buses have occurred in Alabama. Nationwide, more deaths occur outside the bus during loading/unloading than as a result of riding in the bus.

In school buses equipped with seat belts as part of the study, the project achieved a usage rate of 61.5 percent among students.

The report found that adding seat belts to buses created a number of problems. Lost space taken up by the belts would require school systems to expand their bus fleets by 5 to 18 percent. Discipline problems increased because the taller seatbacks required for the belts left the students less visible to the driver, allowing for more mischief.

The report concluded that students would be better served by increased safety in loading and unloading than placing seat belts on buses.

Houston County School Superintendent Tim Pitchford said his system has seat belts on buses for special needs students, but placing seat belts on all buses would be costly and could lead to other problems. Pitchford said in situations where a rapid exit from the bus is necessary, such as a fire or rollover, having to unbuckle small children from safety belts could cost valuable minutes.

Governor's report: seat belts not cost-effective on buses

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