School Bus Safety Concerns

[ScionDriver]

All right well yesterday a school bus in Alabama hit a wall on a highway overpass then fell over it and landed 30 feet below. A total of four students have died so far. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/21/bus.crash/index.html

My question is though; Should school buses be fitted with seat belts and/or airbags? I don't know about other countries but in the US they are not and this accident is raising questions about that issue.

Personally I don't see a reason for it. As the article says less than 10 kids a year die in school bus accidents and plus if they had safety belts they'd be like the ones on airplanes and I could see problems arising with students getting trapped in a different type of crash or just not wearing them anyway.

Discuss.

[kingofthering]

Sigh... Research shows that you have a bigger chance of dying without a seatbelt than getting trapped.

[drakkie]

For some reason seatbelts are obliged i ntouring cars here,but not in public transportation. I witnessed the effects today,when the bus i was in had to make an emergency stop. I was sort of sleeping and i hit the seat in frotn of me... I cant believe they dont have these things in them,they are very useful

[coolieman1220]

well the new ones do have seat belts they just aren't used or are tucked away. they aren't that safe school buses IMO

[jcp123]

I thought school buses already had seat belts...? Maybe it was just a California thing...

[NSXType-R]

None of the school buses have seatbelts, and none of the tour buses have seat belts either. It's good that they have seatbelts, but I just don't see them around anymore. Airbags would be good, but 40 airbags going of at the same time with people not necessarily restrained is huge a headache.

If they put airbags, they better make it so that everyone is restrained.

Are European school buses (or the equivalent) safer or are they just as bad?

[mclaren_crazy]

studies have been done, and I dont know the exact details, but due to the design of the busses and the seats, seatbelts would actually do more harm than good

[jcp123]

studies have been done, and I dont know the exact details, but due to the design of the busses and the seats, seatbelts would actually do more harm than good

Probably 'cause they're lap belts and all you'd do is get internal bleeding if that's your only restraint.

[dydzi]

in EU seatbelts are compulsory in coaches, but to be honest nobody really botheres about it

seatbelts in public transport would be such a nonsense, c'mon and think of it - imagine all the people fastening and unfastening at every bus stop

hard to say wether they should introduce it in school buses - i think it wouldn't hurt to do that, but on the other hand is it worth it?

[NSXType-R]

Actually it'd be smart to teach the kids early on how to use seatbelts.

[Spastik_Roach]

I havn't been in a bus, school or otherwise yet that has had seat belts..

[TVR IS KING]

My old bus had metal bars running along the edges of the seats. If it crashed, many people would be severely hurt/mentally damaged/dead.
My current one has seatbelts, but a lot of people dont bother with them. I know I dont, they really are uncomfertable. I dont think they work well with the upright seating. But most do, which is good to see.

[Zytek_Fan]

Racing seats in busses would work!

[silverhawk]

you wont believe the public buses i travel in. there is are no safety standards or laws. the buses dont stop for people to get off/on, they just slow down a little. the windows & the rear have bars on them so that passengers can climb & sit on the roof. the conductor also climbs the bar to collect the fares while the bus is moving. sometimes the bus is so crowded that the conductor collects the fares thru the windows while hanging on the bars.
i'm not exagerrating coz i live in a third world country so i dont think many of u can imagine the kind of buses we have here.

[drakkie]

Actually it'd be smart to teach the kids early on how to use seatbelts.

Ain't this the job of the parents ?

I havn't been in a bus, school or otherwise yet that has had seat belts..

In Europe regulations state that Touring cars have to have seatbelts. Police regularly checks if people wear them. However in the often more dangerous public transport they dont have 'em... While touring cars usually cruise on the hihway,which is much safer, the public transport winds its way too twisty roads or overcrowded rush hour traffic in the cities... Regulations are pretty stupid sometimes...