To: Mark R. Rosekind, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, President Donald Trump, The Illinois State House, The Illinois State Senate, Governor J.B. Pritzker, The United States House of Representatives, and The Uni...
School Bus Seat Belts, A Deadly Measure
It is the mandate of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to improve safety on the highways, not to make them more dangerous for those who use them by turning full-sized school buses into potential death traps.
For the increased safety of the students, we petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ban any regulation requiring full-sized school buses be equipped with student safety belts, or at the very least that only the highest aircraft quality lift latch positive release seat belts be allowed on full-sized school buses.
For the increased safety of the students, we petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ban any regulation requiring full-sized school buses be equipped with student safety belts, or at the very least that only the highest aircraft quality lift latch positive release seat belts be allowed on full-sized school buses.
Why is this important?
A quarter century of professional experience and personal observation prove the potential for tragedy from unintended consequences of ill-considered bureaucratic decisions and actions.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator, Mark R. Rosekind, has recently joined activists elevating the call to mandate student safety belts on full-sized school buses. Oprah advocated this measure many years ago on her show. Her logic was that if seat belts were required on cars for passenger safety, it was only common sense that they should be required on school buses for the safety of students, also. To the average person, it would seem obvious that this idea should be a no brainer. It is doubtful that many of those calling for this measure have ridden in a modern school bus, and that even fewer have had the responsibility of driving one. For decades these vehicles have been designed and redesigned to improve the safety of our students. Despite recent high-profile accidents drawing attention to this issue, school buses are the safest vehicles on the road. Their greatest dangers are collisions with trains or semi-trailer trucks and rollovers. Absent such occurrences, injuries are extremely rare, and major injuries and life-threatening conditions are nearly nonexistent. The recent CBS News report addressing this issue stated that there were 4 deaths in 1 year, and a study estimated that safety belts could reduce that to 2 deaths. While even those 2 deaths are 2 too many, failure to consider the unintended consequence of mandating seat belts on full sized school buses could make that statistic far preferable to the alternative.
In 25 years driving small and full-sized school buses, I have no personal knowledge of anyone suffering any injury from the lack of safety belts. Though I do fully support the benefits of seat belts on the small buses with fewer passengers or special education students that are at greater risk in any collision, the worst injury a passenger on my bus has suffered in a quarter century was inflicted by a 3 year old on another 3 year old preschooler with a seat belt. That head injury, though superficial, clearly indicated the potentially lethal consequences of placing seat belts in the hands of teenagers with such poor judgment that their driving privileges are wisely restricted with graduated drivers licenses. From first-hand experience, the lack of seat belts would have prevented the worst injury any of my passengers have suffered.
But, the potential for tragedies from incidents over the last couple decades clearly demonstrates the need to take unintended consequences seriously. Both personally and professionally I use a seat belt whenever I get into a vehicle. Professionally, drivers are always required to wear a seat belt, not for their safety, but to keep them close to the steering and braking controls. 25 years experience indicates that if manufacturers are required to equip full size school buses with seat belts, that added expense will influence them to install the minimum standard to save on costs. Those seat belts frequently contain plastic components that are subject to sticking, jamming, and breaking, which makes them difficult to fasten and more importantly difficult or nearly impossible for young students to release. Every year, emergency evacuation drills are required for students to know those procedures in case of an emergency. With a capacity of around 70 students, it is critically important that those procedures can be executed as smoothly and quickly as possible in order to save lives and avoid injuries. The Cary Grove High School bus hit by a commuter train in Fox River Grove, Illinois on October 25, 1995, tragically demonstrates an incident where the ability to evacuate quickly might have reduced the 7 deaths. On August 23, 2011, a Southeast Polk School District bus in Iowa burst into flames on the first day of school. But, 16 students were safely evacuated, despite a sticking rear exit door, demonstrating how lives can be saved and injuries avoided with a smooth and rapid evacuation. Anyone who has stopped behind a loaded full sized school bus unloading knows that is not necessarily a very quick process with the narrow aisle requiring single file movement. Anything that could slow this process or create panic in an emergency would become a matter of life and death. Having had to go back and release students from seat belts that they were unable to release, I can guarantee that it is not a matter of if, but only when, dozens of lives will be lost by the addition of student safety belts to full sized school buses in order to potentially save the 2 lives that the study estimated those belts could save. If this measure is implemented, those lost lives are on those that insisted it be mandated, despite being made clearly aware of the lethal danger of the unintended consequences. If the bureaucrats insist on risking the lives of every school bus passenger in the country, at the very least, they need to require the highest aircraft quality easy fastening positive engagement lift latch release buckles available, such as those manufactured for luxury automobiles by Hickok decades ago. Of the three most dangerous occurrences only the rollover, which could be expected to cause bruises and broken bones but rarely life threatening injuries, could be measurably helped by the use of seat belts. But, the rarity of that occurrence compared to the tragic loss of life caused by delayed evacuation from the use of seat belts in a collision with a train or semi trailer truck fire negates the benefits of using seat belts to prevent less serious injuries. Even the suggestion of regulations to require student seat belts on full sized buses is already beginning to endanger students, because school districts are ordering buses with seat belts in order to meet potential future rules. It is the mandate of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to im...
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator, Mark R. Rosekind, has recently joined activists elevating the call to mandate student safety belts on full-sized school buses. Oprah advocated this measure many years ago on her show. Her logic was that if seat belts were required on cars for passenger safety, it was only common sense that they should be required on school buses for the safety of students, also. To the average person, it would seem obvious that this idea should be a no brainer. It is doubtful that many of those calling for this measure have ridden in a modern school bus, and that even fewer have had the responsibility of driving one. For decades these vehicles have been designed and redesigned to improve the safety of our students. Despite recent high-profile accidents drawing attention to this issue, school buses are the safest vehicles on the road. Their greatest dangers are collisions with trains or semi-trailer trucks and rollovers. Absent such occurrences, injuries are extremely rare, and major injuries and life-threatening conditions are nearly nonexistent. The recent CBS News report addressing this issue stated that there were 4 deaths in 1 year, and a study estimated that safety belts could reduce that to 2 deaths. While even those 2 deaths are 2 too many, failure to consider the unintended consequence of mandating seat belts on full sized school buses could make that statistic far preferable to the alternative.
In 25 years driving small and full-sized school buses, I have no personal knowledge of anyone suffering any injury from the lack of safety belts. Though I do fully support the benefits of seat belts on the small buses with fewer passengers or special education students that are at greater risk in any collision, the worst injury a passenger on my bus has suffered in a quarter century was inflicted by a 3 year old on another 3 year old preschooler with a seat belt. That head injury, though superficial, clearly indicated the potentially lethal consequences of placing seat belts in the hands of teenagers with such poor judgment that their driving privileges are wisely restricted with graduated drivers licenses. From first-hand experience, the lack of seat belts would have prevented the worst injury any of my passengers have suffered.
But, the potential for tragedies from incidents over the last couple decades clearly demonstrates the need to take unintended consequences seriously. Both personally and professionally I use a seat belt whenever I get into a vehicle. Professionally, drivers are always required to wear a seat belt, not for their safety, but to keep them close to the steering and braking controls. 25 years experience indicates that if manufacturers are required to equip full size school buses with seat belts, that added expense will influence them to install the minimum standard to save on costs. Those seat belts frequently contain plastic components that are subject to sticking, jamming, and breaking, which makes them difficult to fasten and more importantly difficult or nearly impossible for young students to release. Every year, emergency evacuation drills are required for students to know those procedures in case of an emergency. With a capacity of around 70 students, it is critically important that those procedures can be executed as smoothly and quickly as possible in order to save lives and avoid injuries. The Cary Grove High School bus hit by a commuter train in Fox River Grove, Illinois on October 25, 1995, tragically demonstrates an incident where the ability to evacuate quickly might have reduced the 7 deaths. On August 23, 2011, a Southeast Polk School District bus in Iowa burst into flames on the first day of school. But, 16 students were safely evacuated, despite a sticking rear exit door, demonstrating how lives can be saved and injuries avoided with a smooth and rapid evacuation. Anyone who has stopped behind a loaded full sized school bus unloading knows that is not necessarily a very quick process with the narrow aisle requiring single file movement. Anything that could slow this process or create panic in an emergency would become a matter of life and death. Having had to go back and release students from seat belts that they were unable to release, I can guarantee that it is not a matter of if, but only when, dozens of lives will be lost by the addition of student safety belts to full sized school buses in order to potentially save the 2 lives that the study estimated those belts could save. If this measure is implemented, those lost lives are on those that insisted it be mandated, despite being made clearly aware of the lethal danger of the unintended consequences. If the bureaucrats insist on risking the lives of every school bus passenger in the country, at the very least, they need to require the highest aircraft quality easy fastening positive engagement lift latch release buckles available, such as those manufactured for luxury automobiles by Hickok decades ago. Of the three most dangerous occurrences only the rollover, which could be expected to cause bruises and broken bones but rarely life threatening injuries, could be measurably helped by the use of seat belts. But, the rarity of that occurrence compared to the tragic loss of life caused by delayed evacuation from the use of seat belts in a collision with a train or semi trailer truck fire negates the benefits of using seat belts to prevent less serious injuries. Even the suggestion of regulations to require student seat belts on full sized buses is already beginning to endanger students, because school districts are ordering buses with seat belts in order to meet potential future rules. It is the mandate of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to im...