Feds Unveil School Bus Safety Rules

Walton Barber, LLP

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Last week three children were hospitalized in the Mira Mesa area after a school bus accident. The children were riding iin the bus when it was sideswiped by a SUV. Luckily, none of the kids were seriously injured. Coincidentally, the federal government was preparing to unveil new rules to improve the safety of school bus seats, and to expand the use of shoulder belts.

Last Monday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters rode a school bus to Morrisville Elementary School to promote new rules regarding school bus safety. Peters sought to expand the use of shoulder belts and to increase the height of seat backs, bud declined to order that all buses be equipped with the safety features. She promised no new money to cover those costs.

"We want school districts to make that decision," said Peters, noting that smaller buses don't carry as many students. "They'll make the decision about how to protect the most children within their areas."

It doesn't make much sense to talk about school bus safety and propose new rules if districts are not going to be mandated to follow the new rules and provided money to retrofit busses, particularly with regard to seat belts. It's a travesty that every school bus in this country is not equipped with seat belts. If the federal government is going to involve itself in school bus safety, it ought to start by making sure every bus in the country is equipped with seat belts.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Airline, Bus, Cruise, and Other Mass Transit Accidents.