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COLUMN |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep. Jesse White
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To: Editor, PA Focus
State Rep. Jesse White, Washington/Allegheny/Beaver
RE: Do seatbelts on school buses make kids safer?
Following the recent fatal
accident involving a local school bus, many people have asked me about whether
or not Pennsylvania has considered mandatory seat belts for school buses.
The federal government does not require the installation of seat belts on
school buses. In Pennsylvania, school bus equipment requirements in statute are
found in the Vehicle Code, which requires that school buses have adequate
seating for passengers, but does not mention seat belts. Two bills were pending
in the state legislature, but did not move to the floor before the legislative
session ended Nov. 30. They will have to be re-introduced during the next
legislative session.
House Bill 2173 would have required buses to be equipped with shoulder restraint
safety belts. Under this bill, seat belts would have to be available for every
passenger, and passengers may not be transported unless they use seat belts.
The bill would also have set a minimum seat height of 24 inches, unless federal
law or regulation required a higher seat.
Senate Bill 360 would have required that every seat on a bus be equipped with
or fitted with retractable seat belts and that every passenger use a seat belt
while the bus is in motion.
A 2002 study of school bus safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration found that lap belts could increase the risk of serious neck and
abdominal injuries. Additionally, the study found that many young passengers were
likely to wear shoulder belts incorrectly, slipping them behind their backs or
under an arm, also increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
With no conclusive evidence that seat belts would definitively keep our kids safer, it seems unlikely that there will be much of a public or legislative push for a mandatory school bus seat belt law anytime soon.
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