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Who We Are »
Betsy Combier

Help Us to Continue to Help Others »
Email: betsy.combier@gmail.com

 
The E-Accountability Foundation announces the

'A for Accountability' Award

to those who are willing to whistleblow unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status. They ask questions that need to be asked, such as "where is the money?" and "Why does it have to be this way?" and they never give up. These people have withstood adversity and have held those who seem not to believe in honesty, integrity and compassion accountable for their actions. The winners of our "A" work to expose wrong-doing not for themselves, but for others - total strangers - for the "Greater Good"of the community and, by their actions, exemplify courage and self-less passion. They are parent advocates. We salute you.

Winners of the "A":

Johnnie Mae Allen
David Possner
Dee Alpert
Aaron Carr
Harris Lirtzman
Hipolito Colon
Larry Fisher
The Giraffe Project and Giraffe Heroes' Program
Jimmy Kilpatrick and George Scott
Zach Kopplin
Matthew LaClair
Wangari Maathai
Erich Martel
Steve Orel, in memoriam, Interversity, and The World of Opportunity
Marla Ruzicka, in Memoriam
Nancy Swan
Bob Witanek
Peyton Wolcott
[ More Details » ]
 
Isn't It Time For Seat Belts on School Buses?

Thursday, April 21, 2005
School bus crash renews seat belt debate
Advocates contend safety devices could save lives, while others argue buses are designed to protect kids.
By Nick Anderson and David Cho / Washington Post
Kevin Wolf / Associated Press

LINK

A 9-year-old girl was killed and other children were injured in the collision of a school bus and a garbage truck Monday. The crash has sparked calls for seat belts on schoolbuses.

WASHINGTON -- The fatal school bus crash Monday in Arlington, Va., stoked a debate that has simmered across the nation for decades: Why don't school buses have seat belts?

Investigators have yet to determine whether such restraints might have protected the 9-year-old girl killed and other children injured in the collision of a school bus and a garbage truck.

But one fact is clear: The bus involved in the crash didn't have passenger seat belts. The same is true for nearly all of the thousands of school buses that crisscross the Washington region every day.

A small but persistent group of advocates argue that school buses should have the same safety-restraint systems the government requires in smaller passenger vehicles and that schoolchildren should buckle up on a bus just as they do in a family car or minivan.

"It's common sense," said Alan Ross, a Connecticut dentist and spokesman for the National Coalition for School Bus Safety. "We know from our car experience that these restraints are lifesaving."

But local school transportation officials who move tens of thousands of students every day in buses without seat belts defend their safety record and cite the latest national research to support them. Riding a bus to school is safer than arriving on foot, by bicycle or in a parent's car, a 2002 study from the National Research Council found.

"They're the safest vehicles on the street," said Tony Liberatore, who oversees a 1,300-bus fleet for Prince George's County, Md., public schools. "They're designed with the occupants in mind, no matter what size you are, in elementary or high school."

Over the years, seat belt advocates have gained ground in fits and starts. In 1987, New York became the first state to require two-point lap belts on new school buses, followed by New Jersey in 1992. Florida recently passed a similar law, and California has moved to require three-point shoulder belts on new buses.

"It might prevent injuries or fatalities," said Bob Austin, a school transportation expert at the California Department of Education. "You can't argue with that." He estimated that three-point belts would cost $1,500 to $1,800 per vehicle as the law takes effect for new large buses in July.

However, several school transportation experts said there is no consensus on the effectiveness of those laws.

"If it's something that made sense to everybody, we would have put them on all the buses 30 years ago," said Mike Martin, executive director of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, a group in Albany, N.Y., that represents school bus operators.

Federal law requires seat belts on school buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds, often used to transport pre-kindergarten or special education students. But the law does not apply to the large buses weighing 25,000 pounds or more that carry most students.

Asked why seat belts are not required on all school buses nationwide, officials with three national school transportation groups on Monday cited the 2002 study of school bus safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

That study found that lap belts could increase the risk of serious neck and abdominal injuries. Shoulder belts, the study concluded, "could provide some benefit, unless misused." Many young passengers, the study warned, were likely to wear shoulder belts incorrectly, slipping them behind their backs or under an arm. That could increase the risk of injury in a crash.

The study found that installing three-point safety belts might reduce bus seating capacity and drive up transportation costs, perhaps having the unintended consequence of reducing bus service for many children.

"Given that school buses are the safest way to and from school, even the smallest reduction in the number of bus riders could result in more children being killed or injured when using alternative forms of transportation," the study concluded.

Experts on school bus safety noted that buses -- because of their size and the design of their passenger cabins -- have a far lower fatality rate in crashes than regular passenger vehicles.

With tall, shock-absorbing backrests, compartmentalized seating and padded benches, "a school bus holds children like eggs in an egg crate," said Liz Neblett, a spokeswoman for the traffic safety administration. "It is the safest form of transportation on the road."

 
© 2003 The E-Accountability Foundation