School Bus Fleet, November 2015

16 SCHOOL BUS FLEET NOVEMBER 2015 To belt or not to belt That is the question that pupil transportation stakeholders have grappled with for decades Whether school buses should have seat belts is a complex issue that goes beyond crash protection Such factors as emergency evacuation student behavior bus capacity and budget also loom large in the conversation There doesnt seem to be an easy answer And yet in California the seat belt question was decisively answered by state lawmakers who passed a bill that required new school buses to be equipped with three point or lap shoulder seat belts The California requirement went into effect in July 2004 for small school buses and in July 2005 for large school buses Many pupil transportation professionals in the state concerned about the cost of the restraints students using them as weapons reduction in bus capacity and the impact on emergency evacuation met the mandate with trepidation But that outlook has largely diminished over the decade since the rule went in effect We were all really concerned We all heard the horror stories recalls Jill Gayaldo director of transportation at Elk Grove Unified School District USD in Sacramento California I will admit that what we found out is three point belts are not nearly as much trouble as we thought they would be It really turned out to be much ado about nothing for us Here school transportation officials from California and other states share their real world insights on how they implemented three point belts on their buses and how many of the common fears havent materialized Laws of the land California is currently the only state with an effective requirement for three point belts on school buses Three other states require lap belts on school buses Florida New Jersey and New York Texas and Louisiana have passed school bus seat belt bills but both were contingent on funding being allocated to pay for the restraints Since those two states mandates remain unfunded they have not been enforced Some school districts in states that dont require three point belts in school buses have voluntarily implemented the restraints in their fleets Federally three point belts are required only on small school buses more precisely those with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10000 pounds or less which account for a small proportion of the school bus market The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA has long declined to mandate seat belts on large school buses However the agency has taken up the topic again this year with a new administrator at the helm Dr Mark Rosekind and a public meeting focusing on school bus seat belts in July Will students wear the seat belts or use them as weapons Does the added cost lead to cuts in school bus service And what about the impact on emergency evacuations Transportation directors with years of three point belt use on their buses share their insights BY THOMAS MCMAHON EXECUTIVE EDITOR 3 Point Belts on Buses Real World Experience Mitigates Most Concerns I havent heard anyone say Were going to get out of transportation because of the lap shoulder restraints Anna Borges state pupil transportation director California Department of Education