Baca bill to require school bus safety belts, protect more children

Baca bill to require school bus safety belts, protect more children

Washington, D.C. - Following two school bus crashes that resulted in multiple injuries and fatalities in the last month, Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto) reintroduced legislation today to require safety belts on all school buses.

"Just yesterday, 23 children were injured in a bus crash in Missouri. Video from another accident in 2003 in Ohio shows 30 children literally falling out of their seats and being thrown against the other side of the bus. How can we say that our school buses are safe?" said Rep. Baca. "We cannot wait for another tragedy to occur. It is time for Congress to take action."

The Save Every Child Using Restraints Act of 2005, or SECURE Act, will require school buses to have a 3-point safety belt, based on a standard developed by the Secretary of Transportation.

"Since we were old enough to ride in cars, we were taught to buckle our safety belts. We have taught our children these basic safety lessons to potentially save their lives during collisions. Yet, one of the most frequent forms of transportation used by school-aged children is not equipped with any life saving safety belts. How can we not give our children the safest possible ride by assuring that all school buses are equipped with safety belts?" said Rep. Baca.

Currently, only six states require safety belts on school buses, including California, which was the first state to require three-point safety belt. The remaining states use the "compartmentalization" method to secure the safety of the occupant. This method assures a reasonable level of safety in frontal crashes, however, a 1999 report by the National Transportation Safety Board found that compartmentalization does not adequately protect passengers from lateral impact and rollover crashes because passengers do not always remain completely in their seats. Also, the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that there is less trauma to the head and neck of passengers wearing 3-point safety belts.

"Many people argue that the cost of installing safety belts on school buses is too high, when in fact it is only about $1.80 per each child. That is a minimal cost to pay to protect a child's life," said Rep. Baca.

The SECURE Act will require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to designate an appropriate design for the new buses to ensure the compatibility of 3-point safety belts with the compartmentalization safety method. Some studies have shown that using 3-point safety belts with the current design may increase the chance of injury in a crash, but the SECURE Act will require the new bus design to be compatible with 3-point safety belts.

The standard, developed by the Secretary of Transportation, will determine whether previously made school buses as well as new buses must add safety belts.

http://www.house.gov/baca/latestnews/release050510-schoolbussafetybelts.htm