SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require school buses to be equipped with seat belts, despite resistance from school officials who say buses are safe without the restraints.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, would require all new school buses in the state to have safety belts. Existing buses would not have to be retrofitted under the proposal.
Lang, who has unsuccessfully sponsored similar bills in the past, said the high, padded seats in school buses generally do a good job protecting kids from injury in front- and rear-end crashes, but don't prevent injuries from side-impact accidents.
"In a side collision, you don't go straight forward or straight back, you get thrown to the side and become a human missile," Lang said Monday.
Lang said he thinks recent school bus crashes might sway members to support the measure this year, citing an August 2003 bus crash in southern Illinois that killed a 14-year-old girl. Shawna Ward died and 15 students and their driver were injured when the bus skidded off a two-lane country road and plunged halfway down a 40-foot ravine near Vandalia, about 70 miles northeast of St. Louis.
But some state education officials said strapping school kids into their seats could pose other dangers, such as hampering their ability to quickly exit a bus in an emergency.
"Seat belts don't necessarily increase safety. In fact, they pose safety risks," said Charlie McBarron, communications director for the Illinois Education Association.
Becky Watts, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education, cited a 2001 study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that found lap or shoulder belts are not safer than existing bus designs.
"The cons outweigh the pros" of requiring seat belts in school buses, Watts said.
But other studies from the administration have concluded that existing school bus seats do not protect passengers in side-impact crashes and rollovers.
Lang said he would like to require all school buses to be retrofitted with lap and shoulder belts, but he said it would be too cost prohibitive to win support from lawmakers.
The bill is expected to be taken up by the House Transportation Committee this week, Lang said.
02/07/05 16:11 EST
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Most folks would think because we do require our children to be seat belted in our personal vehicles that it would be natural to require them to be seat belted in a school bus. Actually, pre school, early childhood, and special needs children are belted for their safety. BUT as I said before a bus full of say 40 elementary children that would either be on fire, or in an emergency where immediate evacuation was needed would be a nightmare. All school buses are equipted with seat belt cutters, but to cut out 40 children would be impossible. Again, it's the powers that be who don't understand the daily workings of the real world who are deciding what's best for our children. When I discussed this issue with one of my favorite experienced drivers she half joking said, "Rose pick 3 of your favorite kids to cut out because that's all you'll be able to save".
Makes my job even more difficult. Hopefully this bill will NOT pass.
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