HARTFORD, Conn — School buses carry out most precious cargo, our kids, and seatbelts have been one of the most effective safety regulations of our time. so it might seem crazy that my school buses don’t have seatbelts - but it’s not! Here is the why.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said school buses are the safest vehicles on the road, even without seatbelts. They said, each year, nationwide an average of about 4 to 6 children die in school bus crashes, which makes busing about 70 times safer than a riding to school in a car.
Why? It starts with one word: compartmentalization. The seats themselves are the restraints. They are designed to be very close together, very tall and very padded. Each row is kind of like its own cushioned compartment, like eggs in a crate. The system’s only real weakness, here, is kids getting thrown around in the event of a rollover crash, but once again, design comes to the rescue.
School buses are tall and massive, and really hard to roll over. They don’t take a lot of damage from crashes, they do great at absorbing the damage they do get, and they keep kids safely above all the other cars and trucks on the road, which means they’re away from the impact.
And we haven’t even gotten into the other safety features like the lights, stop signs and stop arms. All in all, school buses are the most regulated vehicles on the road, as well as the safest.
Tim Lammers is an anchor at FOX61 News. He can be reached at Tlammers@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.