By Kim Smiley

Nearly every state in the US has a law requiring seat belts to be worn in cars. The lone state that doesn’t require adults to wear seat belts, New Hampshire, still has a law requiring children under 18 to wear seat belts.

Currently, only 6 states require seat belt in school buses.  The federal government does not require seat belts to be in installed in buses weighing over 10,000 lbs.  The regular school buses that make up 80 percent of the buses in this country exceed this weight limit and most do not have seat belts.

So if seat belts are required by law in cars, why don’t all school buses have seat belts?

Like most engineering problems, this isn’t as simple a question as it first appears.  The main reason that seat belts aren’t required on all buses is that buses are fundamentally different from cars.

School buses are heavier and taller than cars.  During an accident, a passenger on a bus experiences less severe crash forces than an occupant of a passenger car.  The interior of a modern school bus is designed to protect passengers passively through something called compartmentalization.  The seats are strong, closely-spaced, high backed, and covered in 4 inch thick foam to absorb energy.  The passenger is protected by the cushioned compartment created by the seats.

Buses are considered to be the safest form of ground transportation.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, buses are approximately seven times safer than passenger cars or light trucks.

But would seat belts make them even safer?

This is subject to debate.  There are groups pushing for the federal government to require seat belts on all buses.  Others believe that the potential for misuse and incorrectly worn seat belts would actually result in a higher risk to safety if seat belts were installed.  There are also practical considerations like finding funding in cash strapped budgets to install seat belts and to buy the extra buses that would be necessary since fewer students can be accommodated on a bus with seat belts than one without.

There are few topics touchier than the safety of children and no clear cut answers to the question of what constitute a design that is safe enough.  It could be useful when dealing with a problem like this where emotions might run high to document all information in a Cause Map.  A Cause Map is a visual root cause analysis that incorporates the information associated with an issue in an easy to read format.  All pertinent evidence and facts associated with the topic can be recorded.  Having the same facts available to all invested parties can help keep the discussion production and uncover the best solutions.

To learn more about school bus safety, please visit the National Transportation Safety Board website and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.