Date: Fri 01-Oct-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JEFF

Quick Words:

school-bus-seat-belts

Full Text:

Studies Support Newtown's No-Belts Policy on School Buses

By Jeff White

The conclusion reached by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Tuesday recommending against seat belts in school buses have some neighboring

districts rethinking their policies, but Newtown is not one of them.

District Transportation Director Mary Kelly has long supported Newtown's

decision not to have seat belts in school buses, and for many of the same

reasons cited by the NTSB. In crash tests, numerous examples became evident

that seat belts run the risk of causing students more injury than if they

hadn't been wearing seat belts.

According to Ms Kelly, the concept of compartmentalization is what allows

school buses to attain the safest ratings of all motor vehicles in fatalities-

per-year statistics, assuming that a student is seated properly on the bench,

the strong, well-padded, well anchored, high backed seats providing effective

cushion when a student is thrown during a crash.

Lap belts cinched tightly across the upper thigh offer the danger of

restraining a student to the point of back and neck injury, resulting in

extreme whiplash, a study done by the NTSB showed.

The controversy hinges on the distinction between school buses and other motor

vehicles, and many believe that what is best for cars is not necessarily what

is best for large school buses.

Concerning Newtown's decision not to outfit its buses with belts,

Superintendent of Schools John Reed commented, "I think to understand this you

have to understand a bus [in terms] of size and strength, and the kind of

accidents that happen with normal motor vehicles."

Dr Reed cited a recent Canadian study that concluded, among other things, a

bus colliding with a car is unlikely to end with serious student injury, due

to the bus's ability to stand up to impacts with smaller vehicles.

There are national statistics that support this conclusion. An average of 16

school bus passengers sustain fatal injuries each year out of the 23 million

children who ride buses each year. In 1994 alone, over 5,000 students 5-18

years old were killed in other motor vehicles accidents.

Dr Reed said school bus accidents that threaten student lives the most are

"the unusual ones," when a bus might roll over or run off the road. In these

instances, safe, timely student evacuation becomes the priority, and can be

hindered by dazed students struggling to release restraints.

"In case of an emergency, how are you going unbuckle them?" asked Maria Adams,

a second year bus driver in Newtown. "A bus driver has to help 50 to 60

students."

Dr Reed, who pointed out that often there are three students to each seat,

also agreed that in terms of more efficient evacuation buses are better off

without seat belts.

But this still leaves the difficulty of teaching kids when it is appropriate

to buckle up, and when it is not. Students are taught by their parents to wear

seat belts in cars, and then they are told not to on school buses.

Mary Kelly explained that students, especially the young, need to be told the

differences between the structures of cars and buses, and what such deviations

mean for their safety.

"School buses are just built differently," she said.

Currently, five of Newtown's neighbors, including Bethel and Danbury, require

the use of seat belts in buses.

Newtown's current "no-belt" policy could change "if there was a condition that

validated [seat belts]," according to Dr Reed. Some districts have explored

the use of over-the-shoulder restraints, but the lack of a fool-proof,

automatic release for such belts in case of emergencies has yet to be tested.

For Ms Kelly, the matter is simply stated -- "bottoms on the bottom, backs

against the back," referring to the proper way a student should sit in a seat

to maximize the effectiveness of compartmentalization.

But, as any driver sitting behind a boisterous bus might conclude, getting

kids to refrain from leaning over to other seats is easier said than done.

Maria Adams says she pays close attention to what is going on behind her.

Sometimes, she even has to yell at a student who is misbehaving. "You try not

to yell, but you get some kids that need to be told ten times."

On Mrs Adams' bus, rowdy passengers are moved up front, so she can keep a

closer eye on them.

Mary Kelly recognizes that seat belts in school buses is an important safety

issue. But she also maintains that there are other issues more pressing when

discussing the safety of Newtown's students, like reminding drivers not to

pass school buses when students are being let off, and maintaining a high

level of driver education.