Seat Belts on School Buses
Alot of people ask themselves questions like ‘Does my child need a seat belt on the school bus?’ and ‘Are school buses really safe enough for my child?’. Well, seat belts on school buses is very debatable. Seat belts have evolved over time. The automobile manufacturers have gone from no belts, to just lap belts, to shoulder lap belts, and to harnesses and car seats. The reasoning of the evolution of seat belts is, frequency in automobile collisions. The occurrence of bus crashes and victims of the crashes is becoming more frequent. Many parents and guardians are on board with the seat belts on buses, but the National Highway Traffic and Safety Association is not (Svensen). The decision for seat belts on school buses is a very controversial topic. Most parents and guardians are concerned for the safety of their children in storms on the school bus. Most parents and guardians also want seat belts on school buses for these reasons. Having seat belts on school buses would protect them from rollover collisions, the bus driver's actions,
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Seat belts can be used for violence and weapons. The NHTSA, National Highway Traffic and Safety Association, think that kids would use the seat belts improperly. All of the improper ways of using a seat belt or not using a seat belt include, not using one at all, striking other children with metal end, or choking other kids (Svensen). Seat belts would also be a hazard in weather conditions. Seat belts don’t seem like much, but once the state adds up all of the school districts in the state it gets quite costly. For example, in the state of Iowa there are 375 different districts with about 499,825 students in total (“List of School Districts in Iowa- Ballotpedia”). The average school bus carries 50- 70 children every day, and there are not enough funds to support every single bus in every single school district (“Seat Belts, School Busses, and