The Center for Auto Safety and the National Coalition for School Bus Safety recently petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require seat belts on school buses. The agency’s decision not to act on the request came as a shock to many.
"It just confirms the long history of NHTSA in opposition to child restraints in school buses," Arthur Yeager of the school bus coalition recently told the Washington Post. "There is a certain hypocrisy in their supporting seat belts in virtually every other type of vehicle under their control except for school buses."
NHTSA maintains that large buses are some of the safest vehicles on the road, with a fatality rate six times lower than passenger vehicles. Still, an average of 19 children die each year in bus accidents, 5 while on board and 14 in loading zones.
Because school buses are designed with safety in mind, the high-backed seats are heavily padded and protect passengers in the event of a crash. Experts say that seat belt installation in each bus would ultimately cost each state millions of dollars. Drivers on a strict schedule often have a difficult time enforcing seat belt rules with dozens of young passengers. Despite those difficulties, Texas (TX) and California (CA) already require school bus seat belts.
As a Hampton Roads car accident attorney, I’ve seen plenty of bad traffic accidents, and buses aren’t immune to wrecks. Seat belts, despite their cost and the difficulty of ensuring consistent use, should be considered by our local government for school buses. Our children’s lives are just too precious to risk.
CD
About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, which has offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
2 Comments
Sarah
Thank Heaven!! This means I can keep doing what I love to do-- Driving a School Bus full of America's Most Precious Cargo. I have always maintained that I will hang up my keys when seat belts become mandatory in my state. Imagine being the one person responsible for making sure those belts release in a fire or if the bus were to become submerged in water? Double the horror if you, the driver, were knocked unconscious and could not get the children out. Thank you NHTSA for denying this ongoing request. I know it goes against everything we are ever taught about riding in a motor vehicle. The statistics speak for themselves in regards to bus safety. I'd rather my child be on a school bus than in my own family car. School buses are THAT safe.
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
Thank you for sharing. You make your point very well it sounds like you have the experience to know.
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