Presented below are links to Web pages devoted to seat belts in motor vehicle transportation and in school buses.
Final Rules:
- School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection: Seating Systems, Occupant Crash Protection, Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages
Final rule effective Oct. 21, 2011 that upgrades the school bus passenger crash requirements of FMVSS 222- Requires new school buses of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) (“small school buses”) to have lap/shoulder belts in lieu of the lap belts currently required.
- Sets performance standards for seat belts voluntarily installed on school buses with a GVWR greater than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) (“large school buses”).
- Raises the height of seat backs from 508 mm (20 inches) to 6102 mm (24 inches) on all new school buses and requiring a self-latching mechanism on seatbottom cushions that are designed to flip up or be removable without tools.
- Each State or local jurisdiction may decide whether to install seat belts on these large school buses.
Web Sites:
- Alabama School Bus Seat Belt Pilot Program: A three-year study to assess the impact of lap/shoulder restraint systems for passenger safety. The program is a result of a study group formed by Alabama Gov. Bob Riley in November 2007 following a fatal school bus crash in Huntsville. The final report was released in the fall of 2010. Study authors admitted that pilot tests at school districts failed to incorporate data from new flexible-seat technology that allows for either two or three students to be bucked up per seat, depending on the student’s age and size (two per seat for large middle school students or high school students; three per seat for elementary school and most middle school students).
- National Education Association: Seat Belts, School Buses & Safety
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Safeguard4kids.com: A public awareness website by IMMI describing the benefits of occupant secure ment systems on school buses.
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School Bus Safety: The Seat Belt Issue
A review of the issue by the New Brunswick Department of Education, January 2002 [PDF file] -
IMMI of Westfield, Indiana, offers the SafeGuard 3-point lap/shoulder belt securement system. The company’s Web site describes IMMI’s four year research project, including half a dozen full scale dynamic bus crash tests and more than 70 sled tests, to develop a lap and shoulder belt occupant protection system for school buses.
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HSM’s C.E. White line features the Student Safety Seat System, a 3-point lap/shoulder belt system.
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Syntec Seating Solutions is another school bus seat manufacturer that offers a 3-point lap/shoulder belt solution for school districts that need to fit either two or three students per seat depending on their age and size.
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Users interested in learning the arguments in favor of seat belts on large school buses should visit National Coalition for Seat Belts on School Buses. This site offers extensive documentation about the pro seatbelt position.
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The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety offers guidance about increasing seat belt usage among employees.
White Papers:
- Why Seat Belts Should Not Be Installed on Large Buses
By Ned Einstein, Transportation Alternatives -
The People Have Spoken, Are We Listening?
A position paper on lap/shoulder belt restraints in school buses
By Dr. Cal LeMon, Executive Enrichment -
Why the National Congress on School Transportation Should Endorse Seat Belts on School Buses
By David Peterson, CDPT
Transportation Specialist, St. Paul (Minn.) Public School
Chair, NASDPTS State and National Associations Council (SNAC) - School Bus Occupant Protection
A Consideration of the Issues for State Policy-Makers
By National School Transportation Association, March 15, 2012
Advisory Letters:
- Texas SB 693
Read a letter from Sen. Sylvia Garcia to all state school district superintendents, school boards, transportation departments and state agencies assisting in the implementation of the law that goes into effect for model-year 2018 school buses that requires them to be equipped with three-point, lap-shoulder seat belts.
