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The new position paper elaborates on the state directors association’s recently updated stance on lap-shoulder belts — fully supporting their installation and use in school buses. NASDPTS lays out 10 supporting points for its position, including the limits of compartmentalization and the ability of current lap-shoulder belt systems to maintain bus capacity.
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We believe our response to NTSB’s recommendations documents a position that seeks the clarity and facts your community and state policymakers demand when making important decisions affecting school bus operations.
Read More →Starting with the 2014-15 school year, the buses used at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Mo., will be equipped with three-point seat belts, and a monitor will be on board to make sure that the students are strapped in. Officials make the decision after 22 students were injured last year when their bus tipped onto its side en route to a camp.
Read More →In the debate on whether seat belts are a good fit for large school buses, it seems that the best insight comes from those who actually have experience with the restraints in their fleet. SBF Executive Editor Thomas McMahon hit the road in November to visit Buellton USD and another district in Santa Barbara County, Goleta USD. Both had interesting perspectives to share about their fleets and the environments in which they operate.
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The state directors association had previously expressed its support for lap-shoulder belts if funding is made available. At the annual NASDPTS conference, the board strengthens its position by dropping the funding clause. Safety topics were the focus of many conference sessions.
Read More →Del. Scott Lingamfelter introduces a resolution that calls for the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the effectiveness of requiring seat belts on school buses in Virginia. Among other tasks, the commission would have to consult and summarize the findings of past and current studies on the effectiveness of requiring seat belts on school buses and solicit input from each local school board on the effectiveness and cost of requiring the belts on every yellow bus.
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Several Massachusetts legislators are renewing efforts to require seat belts in large school buses. Four bills are currently under consideration in the state Legislature.
Read More →In response to NTSB recommendations, NASDPTS says it will develop guidelines to assist schools in training bus drivers, students and parents on “the importance and proper use” of various types of school bus seat belts. The state directors association says it will also develop educational materials on “lap and shoulder belts providing the highest level of protection for school bus passengers” — another NTSB recommendation.
Read More →The rule, which amends FMVSS 208, applies to new over-the-road buses and to other types of new buses with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 26,000 pounds, except transit buses and school buses. Requiring seat belts could reduce fatalities by up to 44% and reduce the number of moderate to severe injuries by up to 45%, according to NHTSA.
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The state directors association had previously expressed its support for lap-shoulder belts if funding is made available. Now, the NASDPTS board strengthens its position by dropping the funding clause. However, the association is not calling for a requirement. “We believe this should be a local decision based on local need,” NASDPTS President Max Christensen says.
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