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JK
Top Member

USA
7307 Posts

Posted - 04/06/2008 :  12:51:31 PM  Show Profile  Visit JK's Homepage  Reply with Quote
The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, which through last year declined to take a stand on seat belts, in January changed its position to support them. Buses with seat belts could gain more riders, the organization said, because parents ''will regard the buses as safer for their children.''

But, it said in official comments submitted to the Transportation Department, the federal government must make extra money available to buy the pricier buses -- and not force states or school districts to poach the funds from other transportation needs such as drunken driving programs.

Some states mandate at least lap belts on school buses, including New Jersey, New York and California, but they haven't measured whether their laws have improved safety.

''Even if it saves one person's life,'' said Anna Borges, California Department of Education transportation consultant, ''it's still that one person.''

Of course, if districts here believe that seat belts would improve safety, they could take matters into their own hands.

Philadelphia just did. City Council in December approved a bill requiring seat belts on all school buses by September.

Click Here for full story

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NOTE: This article reports that the, ''National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, which through last year declined to take a stand on seat belts, in January changed its position to support them. Buses with seat belts could gain more riders, the organization said, because parents ''will regard the buses as safer for their children. But, it said in official comments submitted to the Transportation Department, the federal government must make extra money available to buy the pricier buses -- and not force states or school districts to poach the funds from other transportation needs such as drunken driving programs.''

This article seems to again help present that the seat belts issue has always been about the money - not safety. That realization is a most odd aspect when studying these debates over the decades. I would think there are plenty out there with deceased schoolchildren that feel betrayed. What seems not understood is that educrats and politicians reverse engineering the original compartmentalization concept only resulted in a few unnecessary deaths each year. Granted, a few families per year in this country since the mid-seventies were unlucky -- to date that’s only about 70 families out of millions. The failure here may not have been omitting seat belts from the buses, but that the educrats, politicians and the industry itself failed to help parents understand that savings are important as well. Saving $300.00 per bus (initially) was to some worth the aditional risk to children, at least until recently. (jk)

NSTA wishes to say thanks to all of you for your help, letters, telegrams, trips to Washington again and again and again. This effort will save every purchaser of school buses over $300 per bus.'' (NSTA Newsletter, Feb. 1976).

Former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman Jim Hall stated in a Nov 21, 2006 NewsChannel 5 story, 'Bus Crash Revives Debate Over Seat Belts,' "All you have to do is know one family that goes through the devastation of the loss of a child, you'll do everything in your power to ensure that all of the vehicles that your kids get on have seat belts."

FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library
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There is no school bus driver shortage!
Properly train, effective support and pay that retains.

Edited by - JK on 04/06/2008 6:24:40 PM

JK
Top Member

USA
7307 Posts

Posted - 04/06/2008 :  6:31:24 PM  Show Profile  Visit JK's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Testimony on the NHTSA proposal - Excert from a report.

Bus Discipline and Crash Causation

According to Jim Ellis, the director of Research & Instructional Design at the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute in Syracuse, N.Y:

The third potential safety benefit (of seat belts) gets remarkably little attention - barely a passing mention in most studies and position papers - but might wind up being the most important in the long run: reducing driver distraction by improving student behavior. The lack of attention to this issue is very odd, since the No. 1 concern of most bus drivers and supervisors is student management, as indicated on survey after survey. In my experience, driver distraction because of on-board behavior problems is one of the most common causes of school bus accidents and fatalities.

Can there be any doubt that loud out-of-control behaviors, heads stuck out of windows, threats, bullying, property damage, and any displays of disrespect toward fellow students, the bus driver and the bus driver's directions distracts drivers and diverts their attention from their primary task of driving, taking attention and eye glance from the roadway?

Reporting on the recently enacted California lap/shoulder belt requirement, the San Diego Union-Leader reports “Wherever and whenever seat belts are being used there are reports of better discipline, lower noise levels and children remaining seated.”

Unfortunately the NPRM fails to take into consideration the role of reinforcing the habit of seat belts use on young riders as well as the positive potential of better bus discipline in accident prevention.

Measure of these effects is difficult to assess because official reports of school bus injuries and fatalities are drastically understated.

--

The report is too large to post, was sent to me by email - will try to get a link, as the report is very well done.

Click the link to receive a free customizable brochure (MS Word template) that can be reproduced and given to parents - "The seven highly effective steps to keeping your child safe" - Click Here for Link

FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library
Post Check, Hostage Takeover, Bus Fire and special effects photos now available Free to use at websites, in newsletters, memos, the local press, letters to parents and more. This is a very popular Website. If you can't get in bookmark the page and try again later.



There is no school bus driver shortage!
Properly train, effective support and pay that retains.

Edited by - JK on 04/06/2008 6:55:32 PM
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Sandra (Ennis) Nunn
Top Member

Canada
1180 Posts

Posted - 04/06/2008 :  7:12:41 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by JK

Testimony on the NHTSA proposal - Excert from a report.

Bus Discipline and Crash Causation

According to Jim Ellis, the director of Research & Instructional Design at the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute in Syracuse, N.Y:

The third potential safety benefit (of seat belts) gets remarkably little attention - barely a passing mention in most studies and position papers - but might wind up being the most important in the long run: reducing driver distraction by improving student behavior. The lack of attention to this issue is very odd, since the No. 1 concern of most bus drivers and supervisors is student management, as indicated on survey after survey. In my experience, driver distraction because of on-board behavior problems is one of the most common causes of school bus accidents and fatalities.

Can there be any doubt that loud out-of-control behaviors, heads stuck out of windows, threats, bullying, property damage, and any displays of disrespect toward fellow students, the bus driver and the bus driver's directions distracts drivers and diverts their attention from their primary task of driving, taking attention and eye glance from the roadway?

Reporting on the recently enacted California lap/shoulder belt requirement, the San Diego Union-Leader reports “Wherever and whenever seat belts are being used there are reports of better discipline, lower noise levels and children remaining seated.”

Unfortunately the NPRM fails to take into consideration the role of reinforcing the habit of seat belts use on young riders as well as the positive potential of better bus discipline in accident prevention.

Measure of these effects is difficult to assess because official reports of school bus injuries and fatalities are drastically understated.

--

The report is too large to post, was sent to me by email - will try to get a link, as the report is very well done.



Jk, I would very much appreciate a link to the full report. Thanks for bringing it to the attention of the forum.

Sandy

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Sandra (Ennis) Nunn
Top Member

Canada
1180 Posts

Posted - 04/06/2008 :  7:36:56 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Jk, I believe that I may have a link to that report, or a similar article from Jim Ellis...
(sn)

Stirring the Pot:
Showing No Restraint for Lap/Shoulder Belt Opponents

By Jim Ellis, Special to School Transportation News

For the sake of discussion, here's why I'm in favor of lap/shoulder belts on school buses...

full article from School Transportation News


Edited by - Sandra (Ennis) Nunn on 04/08/2008 09:06:19 AM
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JK
Top Member

USA
7307 Posts

Posted - 04/08/2008 :  11:33:30 AM  Show Profile  Visit JK's Homepage  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sandra (Ennis) Nunn

Jk, I believe that I may have a link to that report, or a similar article from Jim Ellis...
(sn)


Although not the document in reference to: NHTSA Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Seating Systems, the article does seem to include some information from the document. Haven't been able to locate a link to the document at regulations.gov - testimony is closed. You can request a copy from 2safeschools Library Manager by going to 2safeschools.org and clicking on any 2safeschools email link. Request Docket: NHTSA NPRM Response.pdf from the Libray Manager. (jk)

FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library
Post Check, Hostage Takeover, Bus Fire and special effects photos now available Free to use at websites, in newsletters, memos, the local press, letters to parents and more. This is a very popular Website. If you can't get in bookmark the page and try again later.



There is no school bus driver shortage!
Properly train, effective support and pay that retains.

Edited by - JK on 04/08/2008 11:35:08 AM
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JK
Top Member

USA
7307 Posts

Posted - 04/09/2008 :  9:53:38 PM  Show Profile  Visit JK's Homepage  Reply with Quote
For any interested Sandra (Ennis) Nunn found a link to the document under discussion in this thread:

Downloads as an MS doc file - Click Here for link.

FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library
Post Check, Hostage Takeover, Bus Fire and special effects photos now available Free to use at websites, in newsletters, memos, the local press, letters to parents and more. This is a very popular Website. If you can't get in bookmark the page and try again later.



There is no school bus driver shortage!
Properly train, effective support and pay that retains.

Edited by - JK on 04/09/2008 9:56:36 PM
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