Schools Strap In For Mandate
Article by ALYSSA RICHARDSON and AMANDA MCFARLAND,
InkFreeNews Reporting Staff
“This has been a big debate for a long time… for as long as I have been here, which is 19 years,” stated Cheryl Cook, Warsaw Community School Corporation Transportation Director. “It is not a simple cut and dry debate. The issue is actually pretty complex.”
The debate over whether or not to utilize safety belts within school buses is not a new one. For years, arguments have waged between the potential pros and cons with proponents of both sides arguing meritorious points. However, it wasn’t until recently that a major government entity took a stance in the fight. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a study of data from 2003-2012 issued in support of implementing seat belts on busses.
According to NHTSA, total school bus occupant and pedestrian fatalities in school transportation-related crashes from 2003-2012 increase with occupant’s age. Children from 0-4 had two occupant death and 11 pedestrian deaths; those ages 5-7 had eight occupant deaths and 42 pedestrian deaths; ages 8-13 had 21 occupant deaths and 42 pedestrian deaths; ages 14-18 reported an even 24 pedestrian and 24 occupant deaths. Those riding school buses over 19 years of age had the greatest death toll: 51 occupant deaths and 125 pedestrian deaths.
Warsaw Community School Corporation
“Buses really are the safest vehicle to travel in for children. These things are built like a tank,” noted Cook. “But I do believe the mandate will be coming. While I do believe safety belts will protect more children in side impact collisions, rear and front crashes are debatable. There is just not enough data in my mind if they are of benefit at this point.
In an accident with a bus, a car will always lose. We once had a school bus struck by a snow plow, it was funny to watch the video because all that happened was the kids bobble and a notebook hit the floor.”
Cook conceded though the seat belts may allow for safer passage in side collision crashes as well as aiding in behavior management, she has some major fears associated with their implementation too.
“Say you have 50 plus students grades K-6 in seat belts. The bus catches fire. Imagine their panic. You have two minutes to evacuate that bus before it fills with toxic gases. Can you imagine how hard that would be? Or what if the bus topples over on its side. It is incredibly hard to release a seat belt with tension on it. I’m afraid children will not be able to get off a bus.
From 2003-2012, 174 school-age children died in school transportation related crashes, 55 of which were occupants and 119 were pedestrians. Armed with these numbers, Cook notes though she can see both sides of the debate, she wishes more attention was paid to developing safer entrance and exit to buses for children.
“The biggest danger zone for a bus is the area 10 feet around it,” explained Cook. “Loading and unloading kids is the most dangerous aspect of driving a bus. Cars don’t want to stop. More children are killed beside the school bus than ever do within it.”
Should the state pass a mandate, Cook stated the expense would be in the billions of dollars range. To equip all 72 buses in the Warsaw fleet with safety belts, cook estimated at least $504,000 would have to be paid.
Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation
Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation Transportation Director, Blaine Conley, said that right now, TVSC does use seat belts on a case-by-case basis, especially pertaining to students with specific needs.
“We’re really in constant discussions about the safety of our students and there are some situations where we have students who have seat belts. It’s just a safer situation for them,” he said.
According to Conley, research suggests school buses by design are among the safest modes of transportation on the road. However, one would need to consider all of the possible scenarios.
“When a school bus overturns, that’s an incredibly dangerous situation for kids,” Conley said. “And that’s when seat belts need to be in place, to keep students in the safest situation possible.”
Before making a decision as far as whether or not to install seat belts on TVSC buses, the corporation would need to examine its current situation, like how many students from each grade level ride buses and what the safest alternatives would be for them.
“We’d have to look at where our buses are in order to meet the law that would be in place to have students wearing those belts,” he said.
He added that decisions pertaining to seat belts would also be based on what the Indiana Department of Education’s transportation department would recommend.