Gov. Bob Riley, his appointed study group and officials at the Alabama Department of Education were presented with findings from a three-year school bus seat belt study that found occupant restraint systems are not as cost effective as making improvements to the danger zone while loading and unloading students.
According to the study results, “virtually all school systems will need to purchase buses to accommodate a seat belt requirement” and transport the same amount of student riders simultaneously. And, according to “Cost-Effectiveness of Lap/Shoulder Seat Belts on Large Alabama School Buses,” one of the study’s final reports, the costs involved with adding seat belts far exceed the benefits, and “school bus seat belts are not as cost-effective as other types of safety treatments.”
The results seem to mirror many of the same arguments the study was facing when it began three years ago after the Huntsville school crash that resulted in the death of four students after the vehicle left a highway overpass and plunged some 60 feet. The study summary also noted that the higher seat backs would make it more difficult for drivers to keep an eye on the students, which could lead to more problems with student behavior. The results of a post-study survey with school bus drivers and aides showed that nearly 94 percent said they believe the new higher seat backs regulated by NHTSA make it more difficult to monitor student behavior and to tell whether the students are utilizing the seat belts.
The results of the study also included some suggestions for alternative safety treatments:
- New safety technology applicable to loading/unloading pupils to new bus purchases.
- Additional driver training
- Additional education/training for students and teachers
- Additional training of crossing guards
- Upgraded traffic control at school crossings
- Public education about passing a school bus that is loading/unloading pupils
- Enforcement efforts by the Department of Public Safety, local police agencies, and school districts
- Analysis of school loading areas for difficult bus maneuvers, mixing vehicles and child pedestrians in the same traffic streams, and other potential contributors to pedestrian crashes
In a recent School Transportation News poll, a little more than 47 percent of respondents said they did not think the Alabama results would have any effect on their opinions concerning seat belts on school buses, while 30 percent thought it would have some or little influence. On the other hand, some states, including Georgia, were awaiting the results to help decide on whether a law mandating school bus seat belts would be necessary.
Dr. Dan Turner, the study’s lead, will give presentations on the results at the NASDPTS and NAPT conferences in Portland on Sunday, October 31.
