The original material (reproduced on this page), can be found at:-
http://www.ncsbs.org/reports/reports_nygov.htm
Funding provided By the New York State Governor's
Traffic Safety Committee for the New York State Education Department
Project
developed by Madison-Oneida BOCES
Pupil
Transportation Safety Institute
Ted
Finlayson-Schueler
Jim
Ellis
1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
A.
Priority
B.
Behavior
C.
Medical
D.
Evacuation
E.
Education
F.
Liability
G.
Roles and Responsibilities
H.
Seat Belt Policy
I.
Reasonable Expectations
Appendix
A - Education Law
Appendix
B - Seat Belt Instruction
Appendix
C - Classroom Instruction
Appendix
D - Lap Belt Synopsis
Bibliography
Foreword
This
manual and accompanying video tape thoroughly examine seat belt use on school
buses and provide guidance for the successful implementation of a seat belt use
policy in school districts.
The
manual and video will be of interest to anyone with an investment in children
and schools. Transportation
directors will be a primary audience because it is their responsibility to
oversee the bus drivers who would implement a seat belt policy and the mechanics
who would maintain the seat belts. Parents
will be a primary audience because of their obvious personal concern for their
own children's safety. Superintendents
and school boards will be interested because they set the policy for any
innovation or direction that a school district initiates.
Classroom teachers and building administrators will be an important
audience because they reinforce bus safety training within the school and also
provide disciplinary consequences for inappropriate actions on the school bus.
All
of these groups must work together to enable school districts to provide the
greatest safety and educational benefit to the children who ride school buses.
Part I of
the manual provides an overview of the primary issues to be considered when
implementing a seat belt use policy on school buses. Each issue is framed by a basic question.
Each question is answered in a succinct conclusion.
Part II of
the manual provides specific guidance for school district implementation of a
seat belt use policy. The roles and
responsibilities of individuals within a school district are defined and sample
seat belt policy is also included.
Finally,
an appendix and bibliography identify works cited, and additional resources
regarding seat belt use for those interested in engaging in additional research.
Extensive
research and interviews have been conducted to develop this manual.
It should be noted that the most comprehensive and balanced work on
school bus safety in Special Report 222:
Improving School Bus Safety of the National Research Council of the National
Transportation Research Board. This
study will be referred to as Special
Report 222 throughout this manual.
The
production of this manual and video were made possible by a grant from the
Governor's Traffic Safety Committee.
Part I - Issues
Before
school districts can make the important decision of whether or not to mandate a
seat belt use policy on school buses, the issues surrounding this decision must
be understood.
A. Priority Issue
A
primary issue raised by those both for and against seat belt use on school buses
is the issue of making the best decisions for children's safety with limited
financial resources.
Question: What is the best and most effective way to spend school bus
safety dollars?
Fatalities vs. Injuries
The
issue of fatalities on school buses plays an important role in determining how
school bus safety dollars should be spent.
Nationwide each year, 49.4 pedestrians and bicyclists die in accidents
outside of the school bus. Each
year, 12 student passengers and 5.4 adult drivers or passengers die inside of
the school bus as a result of accidents (SR 222, p. 35)(FARS Data Base 1982
-1986). To most effectively reduce fatalities on school buses,
efforts must be made to train bus drivers, students, and motorists to prevent
these "outside the bus" fatalities.
New
York State has made significant efforts to protect children who ride school
buses by providing training in safe loading and unloading procedures as well as
in other safe busing procedures. The
State Education Department has coordinated the development of many quality bus
safety products and programs. These
include: the K-6 School Bus Safety Classroom Curriculum, The "Safe
Crossing: an EGG-Cellent Idea" video, the approved crossing signal, and the
"Safe Crossing Poster".
The
issue of injuries on school buses differs from that of fatalities.
While more fatalities occur outside of the school bus each year than
inside, the inverse is true for injuries. It
is estimated that 950 injuries occur outside of the school bus each year and
11,400 injuries occur inside of the school bus (SR 222, p. 48). These
injuries mean lost educational time and potential long term medical problems for
children, as well as exposure to liability for everyone involved.
To
reduce fatalities, school bus safety dollars should be used to provide education
on safety issues and procedures primarily outside of the school bus. However, to reduce injuries that occur on school buses, the
priority must be to increase safety inside of the bus.
Special Report 222 estimates
that 50% usage of seat belts on school buses would reduce injuries by up to 20% (SR
222, p. 99). Therefore, policy
mandating seat belt use on school buses and comprehensive training in proper
seat belt use, are two effective ways to spend school bus safety dollars to
reduce injuries on the school bus.
Financial Concerns
In
deciding whether to mandate seat belt use policy on school buses, costs are an
important concern. New York State
is in a unique position to consider seat belt use policy because financial
implications are minimal.
All
school buses purchased since July 1987 in New York State have been equipped with
seat belts.
As
of 1994, over 75% of the school buses in New York State are equipped with seat
belts.
By
approximately 1997, the school bus fleet in New York State will approach 100%
seat belt equipped.
Obviously,
in New York State, purchasing new buses equipped with seat belts is not a
financial choice. Interestingly,
research indicates that seat belt vandalism and misuse on school buses are
decreased by correct seat belt use. Mandated
seat belt use policy in New York State could actually save school districts
money by reducing the costs of seat belt repair.
Other Safety Strategies inside the Bus
While
seat belts are an effective way of adding to student protection on school buses,
there are other strategies that can be implemented along with seat belt use to
even further increase passenger safety.
Special Report 222 cites the following safety strategies as providing superior protection
for passengers at a minimal added expense:
28"
high padded seat backs on school buses.
Elimination
of standees on school buses.
Middle
loading of students on school buses is also a strategy proven to add to student
safety on the school bus, especially in front and rear collisions.
It involves filling the middle seats of the school bus first.
When the bus is loaded to capacity, the rear and then the front seats
should be filled last and emptied first.
Conclusion
The
best and most effective way to spend school bus safety dollars to reduce
fatalities on the school bus is to
develop and implement educational programs that promote safety outside of the
school bus where most fatalities occur. Effective
ways to reduce injuries on the school bus include: mandated seat belt use to
protect children inside of the bus, middle loading of students on the bus,
elimination of standees on the bus, and 28" high seat backs. These
strategies when combined with consistent safety training provide effective
protection for passengers.
B.
Behavior Issue
Students
and bus drivers alike are concerned with the behavior exhibited by some students
on
School
buses today. Experienced drivers
have observed a significant change in student
behaviour.
Many students are apprehensive to board the school bus each day because
of the
harassment
they face from other students. These
problems shift the driver's focus from driving to discipline.
This can lead to school bus accidents.
Question: Will increasing
seat belt use on school buses improve student behavior?
Student Control
The
first step in student behavior management I s controlling the physical location
of the student. Bus drivers who are
successful student managers often accomplish this by assigned seating on their
buses. The benefits of assigned
seating combined with seat belt use on school buses are twofold. First, students are placed where they should be from the
start and any movement from that position becomes subject to disciplinary
consequence. Second, the temptation
to taunt or touch other students is greatly reduced by keeping students seated
and facing the backs of other students' heads.
Enforcing Policy
When
considering seat belt mandates, school bus drivers often ask the question,
"How do I know if the students are wearing the belts in their seats?"
The driver is not responsible for determining if a seated student is belted.
The bus driver's responsibility is only to provide instruction and
encouragement for district policy. However,
once belt use policy is in place, the bus driver will be better able to
discipline students who stand up. As
soon as a student stands up, the disciplinary process must begin.
If the district fully supports the disciplinary process, uncooperative
students will quickly become cooperative.
Camcorder
systems on school buses can be useful in handling non-belt use situations as
well. Video tapes of student
behavior on school buses can be reviewed each day.
Students who violate seat belt use policy on school buses should
consistently receive disciplinary action. As
a result, behavior problems will be reduced.
Driver Distraction
Driver
distraction is the cause of many vehicular accidents.
Research shows that people are able to attend to five to seven stimuli
simultaneously. Accidents occur
when a driver reaches sensory overload. The
list of situations a bus driver must attend to includes: road surface
conditions, engine and transmission performance, pedestrians or bicycles,
construction zones, radio messages, other motorists, intersecting streets,
traffic control devices, activity at the next bus stop, or cars backing out of
driveways. Inappropriate student
behavior on the school bus is one of
the most common distractions that a driver encounters.
However, this type of distraction can be controlled in large part by the
implementation of a seat belt use policy and assigned seating on the school bus.
Fatal Student Actions
A
student behavior leading to serious injury and fatality on school buses involves
impulsive students leaving their seats, then opening and jumping from the
emergency Wt or the front door of the bus.
Seat belt use policy would deter students from leaving their seats except
when time to exit the bus at their stops. If
policy were enforced, students leaving their seats at unauthorized times would
initiate immediate driver action. As a result, the bus might be able to be stopped quickly before a
student could reach a door and get out. An
assigned seating policy would also keep impulsive students away from exits.
Seat
belt use policy on school buses would also decrease the opportunity for students
to place their heads or limbs out of school bus windows.
This in turn would decrease the possibility of decapitation or
dismemberment. Because a seat belt
use policy would not permit the students to be standing in their seats, the
temptation to partially leave the protection of the bus would be reduced.
Conclusion
Consistently
implemented seat belt use policy will keep students seated, away from one
another other, and away from windows and exits of the bus.
This will improve student behavior, control certain types of fatal
student actions, and reduce driver distraction.
Conflicts on school buses will always exist to some degree.
Isolated cases of student disagreements where seats must be changed on
the bus to reduce tension will still occur.
However, these cases comprise a minority of driver distraction incidents.
Controlling the position of students in the physical space of the school bus will greatly reduce student misbehavior and increase safety.
C. Medical Issue
Many
organizations and individuals have taken positions on the issue of whether or
not seat belts on school buses will save lives and/or reduce injuries in a
school bus accident.
Question: Do seat belts on school buses benefit students in school bus
accidents?
Student Position
The
net result of the implementation of seat belt use policy will be that students
will be seated on the school bus. Whether
they are sitting in their seats without belts to fool the driver, or sitting in
their seats belted to follow policy, the students will be safer in an accident.
Unseated students such as standees or improperly seated students are
likely to receive more serious injuries because they are not in position to
receive the benefits inherent in the design of a modem school bus.
In
order for seat belt use policy to be successful, certain procedures must be
followed:
•
Students must stay belted until the bus stops.
•
The bus must not move until students are belted.
•
Students must be seated and belted whenever the bus is in motion.
Once
students are trained in these procedures, only a few minutes will be added to
the time it takes to finish a route. Having
students in their seats until the bus is safely stopped, will allow drivers to
concentrate on traffic.
Compartmentalization
The
concept of "compartmentalization" entered the school bus vocabulary
with the UCLA Crash Tests of 1967. Many
different seat, restraint, and padding designs were crash tested.
The concept of compartmentalization was created to describe surrounding
the passenger in a compartment of safety. The
concept includes the following components: 28" high padded seats to absorb
the impact of passengers thrown forward or back, padded arms at the ends of
seats to keep students from falling into the aisle, and lap style seat belts to
maintain the passenger in this cocoon of safety.
Federal
standards implemented in 1977 severely reduced the level of protection suggested
in the UCLA Crash Tests. Seat backs
were lowered to 24" and components of padded arms and seat belts were
removed. Despite this serious
dilution of standards, the present standard is still referred to as
compartmentalization.
It
must be emphasized that this reduction of standards does not provide the
protection conceived by the original design of compartmentalization.
Concerned with student safety, New York State has maintained the 28"
seat backs on school buses. The
implementation of policy mandating seat belt use on buses would bring New York
State even closer to the high safety standards of the original concept of
compartmentalization.
Collision Types
Frontal Collision
56%
of all bus accidents causing student injuries are frontal collisions (SR 222, p.
43). The Canadian Government
performed a series of crash tests involving frontal collisions in order to
evaluate the effect of seat belts and seat spacing on student injuries. Much attention has been given to the fact that the belted
dummies in these tests had higher Head Impact Criteria measurements, (HIC) than
the unbelted dummies. As a result,
some people have concluded that seat belts should not be used on school buses.
It
must be acknowledged that both medical and traffic Safety experts have
questioned the results of the Canadian Crash Tests.
Special Report 222 critically examines the Canadian Crash Test of a
full size bus. Some important
factors must be considered when looking at the crash tests to determine if seat
belts are effective in protecting school bus passengers:-
· The crash tests simulated the most severe type of school bus accident.
Frontal
collisions provide the best opportunity for the concept of compartmentalization
to work. Close review of the crash
test data indicates that seat belts play an important role in keeping students
safe in the compartment of the school bus.
The issue of internal injuries in frontal collisions also needs to be addressed when considering seat belts on school buses. Studies have looked at whether severe accidents cause lap style seat belts to place harmful force on the abdomen. Medical associations have testified that a child's abdomen is capable of bearing the load placed on it by a lap style seat belt. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics' statement on school bus safety says: “With restraints presently available, any school age child can safely wear a seat belt” (Pediatrics, November 1986, p. 930).
Proper
adjustment of seat belts, especially lap style seat belts is important to
passenger safety. Effective
training programs must be established to insure proper use of seat belts.
Belts must be worn low in the lap across the hip bones.
Proper placement of belts relieves possible stress to the abdomen and
prevents passengers from sliding under their seat belts and out of their seats.
Properly
used lap style seat belts on school buses can create an even higher level of
safety for passengers than lap style belts in cars.
This is due to the fact that school bus construction makes the buses more
compatible with lapstyle seat belts:-
Rear Collisions
Rear
collisions are most dangerous to rear seat passengers who are in the impact zone
of a collision with a large vehicle. Middle
loading adds to passenger safety in rear collisions.
Seat belts also play a role in these accidents because they prevent
passengers from being tossed from their seats upon impact.
Once passengers have left the protection of the seat, they are exposed to
greater danger in secondary accident events.
Rollovers, Vaults, and Side Collisions
Most accidents are not simple front or rear collisions. Even if a primary collision is front or rear. a secondary accident event may result involving impact with roadway objects or a rollover. Side impact accidents often cause rollovers or cause the bus to skid off the road into secondary collisions. 35% of fatal school bus accidents involve a rollover as the primary or secondary accident event (SR 222, p. 39). In these accidents, properly worn seat belts will keep students in their seat compartments.
All
types of accidents must be considered when deciding whether or not to mandate
the use of seat belts on school buses. In
front or rear collisions, the primary impact often puts passengers in line with
the padded seat compartment of the school bus.
Seat belt use will position students to remain in that Protective
environment. However, when the bus
falls, is hit from the side, or rolls over, unbelted passengers are removed from
the protection of the padded seats. Students
can be thrown across the bus into seats or into other students.
In some cases, they may even be thrown out of the bus.
Seat belts can protect passengers in these types of accidents by holding
them safely in their seats.
Medical Association Positions
The
following medical associations have supported the use of lap-style seat belts on
school buses since 1985:-
Conclusion
Seat
belts are not inherently harmful to passengers.
Seat belts prevent, not cause, injuries.
Special Report 222 estimates
that with 50% usage of seat belts, injuries and fatalities would be reduced 20%.
The medical community is solidly behind the use of lap style seat belts
on school buses. Crash tests have
shown seat belts to be effective in protecting students. High
back padded seats and seat belts together provide true compartmentalization for
school bus passengers in an accident.
D. Evacuation
Issue
Evacuating
students after an accident or fire is the nightmare that every bus driver dreads
almost more than the accident itself. Trying
to imagine and prepare for all of the possible evacuation scenarios can be very
difficult.
Question: How does seat belt use on school buses affect student
evacuation?
General Concerns
The
two most serious situations requiring evacuation are burning or sinking buses. In these situations, children may have as little as one or
two minutes to evacuate the bus before they suffocate or drown.
Other incidents might leave a bus in traffic or on railroad tracks.
In these cases, students must be removed as quickly as possible to
protect against additional accident events.
Concerns
have been raised about the ability of children to unbuckle themselves and exit
the bus in such situations. Once
buckling and unbuckling on the bus become a habit for students, they will do it
automatically in any situation. Bus
evacuation drills have been timed with and without seat belts.
It has been determined that there is no significant difference in elapsed
time.
Unconscious Passengers / Overturned Bus
Children
who are unconscious or hanging from seat belts in an overturned bus need to be
removed from the bus by another person. In
most cases, this will be the bus driver, another student, or a passerby.
For a belted student, this also means removing the child from the seat
belt. This can be done in two ways.
One way is to unbuckle the seat belt and carry or drag the child from the
bus. Another way is to use the seat
belt cutter. The seat belt cutter
should be mounted within reach of the driver's seat because the driver may need
to cut him/herself out first. Using
a good cutter, the amount of time needed to cut a taut belt is minimal.
Bus
drivers must be trained to remove both seated and suspended passengers in the
case of an accident. They should be
trained to do this both with and without the use of a seat belt cutter.
Students should also be instructed that they might need to do this for
another passenger, in the instance that the driver is seriously injured.
In
the few real life situations where seat belted students have needed to evacuate
school buses, seat belts have not impeded the evacuation process.
Belted students are less likely to be seriously injured and are more
likely to remain conscious in a school bus accident than unbelted students.
As a result, these students should be able to evacuate the bus with less
assistance.
Conclusion
Even
in the most difficult evacuation situations, students who have been held in
place by seat belts will most likely be less injured, and better able to
evacuate themselves than unbelted students who have been tossed from their seats
and injured. Seat belts do not
significantly affect the time required to perform a standard bus evacuation. Drivers and students need to be trained appropriately to
release themselves and others.
E. Education Issue
Seat
belt advocates believe that requiring student seat belt use on school buses will
encourage the habit of "buckling up" for a lifetime.
Thus, thousands of lives will be saved.
Question: Can young children learn to use seat belts correctly in cars
and on school buses?
Instruction is the Key
40,000
people die every year on highways in the United States.
Mandatory seat belt laws in automobiles have increased seat belt use to
72% in New York State, and 66% nationally.
In 1992, 4,896 unrestrained passengers under the age of 19 died in motor
vehicle accidents (Dr. Jeff
Michael, NHTSA). Half of these
fatalities might have been avoided with proper use of seat belts and car seats.
Children
receive messages about buckling in up in automobiles from parents, teachers. and
the media. They encourage their
parents to buckle up in their cars as a result.
This in turn saves lives. It
seems logical that if seat belt use policy was required on school buses, even
more lives could be saved. By not
requiring students to buckle up on school buses, we are sending them a confusing
message about safety.
It
must be acknowledged that school buses are not cars and that children will not
automatically make the connection between bus seat belt use and car use.
This is an instructional issue. Just
as word problems relate math concepts to the real world for students, classroom
and on-bus instruction need to link on-bus belt use with seat belt use in
personal vehicles. As students are
encouraged to buckle up on the school bus, they must understand why this is
important and realize that the same principles apply to their family car.
Quality
instructional programs on seat belt use can help children learn to use seat
belts properly and make the connection between belts on buses and belts in cars. In addition, children who are instructed in the proper use of
seat belts on school buses may be less inclined to use them as toys or weapons
(SR 222, p. 85). Ibis in turn would
reduce vandalism to seat belts as well as injuries to passengers.
Young Children
Learn Best
Students who have been asked to wear seat belts on school buses since they were in kindergarten, wear seat belts as much as 80% of the time on the school bus. High school students who have only been exposed to belts on buses for a few years tend to comply 30-50% of the time. This indicates that seat belt use on school buses starting at a young age creates positive habits. In fact, the Comsewogue School District in New York State implemented seat belt policy in 1983. By 1987, the school district stated: "We experience no difficulty with the younger children except for having some trouble adjusting belts ... but we have occasional problems with the upper grade students" (SR 222, p. 85).
Conclusion
It appears that students who learn to use seat belts on buses consistently from an early age, continue to do so as they grow older. Regular, quality instruction on seat belt use in cars and school buses can be key in promoting significant savings in lives, health, and productivity.
F. Liability Issue
School
districts and contractors are threatened by the possibility of lawsuits in every
aspect of their operations. Awards
for damages fill the news and any change from the relative comfort of the status
quo is difficult to accept.
Question:
Will mandatory seat belt use increase or decrease a school district's exposure
to liability?
Education Law Regulations
Sections
3813.4 and 3635-a. of the New York State Education Law and Part 156.3(i) of the
Commissioner's Regulations describe the guidelines that school districts must
comply with in terms of seat belts on school buses.
These are included in Appendix A
at the end of this manual. Briefly
summarized, they state:
School
districts can be sued as a result
of:-
School
districts cannot be sued as a result
of-.
· Not having seat belts on older (pre-1987) buses.
Liability for Injuries
Any
time a student is injured in or around a school bus everyone involved risks
being sued. This includes the
district, -the contractor if there is one involved, the chassis manufacturer,
the body manufacturer, the driver of the bus, the superintendent, the department
of transportation, etc. The best
way a school district can safeguard itself against law suits is to reduce
injuries on the school bus.
Seat
belt use on school buses will improve student behavior, reduce injuries
resulting from fighting and pushing, and decrease accidents caused by, driver
distraction. Because students will not fall or bounce from their seats,
injuries from bus maneuvers or pavement bumps will also be reduced.
In minor collisions, students will be held in their compartment and avoid
injury-
In
a courtroom, safety is an easy thing to sell.
Therefore, school districts should be proactive, and do all that they can
to increase the safety of students who ride school buses.
Conclusion
Mandated
seat belt use on school buses may actually decrease a school district's exposure
to liability. Properly used seat
belts should reduce injuries and fatalities on school buses, thus decreasing
exposure to liability. It is in the
district's best interest to enforce seat belt use and to update their fleet to
seat belt equipped buses as soon as possible.
This would provide the highest level of safety for their children and
reduce liability as much as possible.
Part II -
Implementation
State
law has established a process for districts to follow when addressing the issue
of seat belt use on buses. Wen
planned, reasonable implementation including promotion of policy and quality
instruction on seat belt use is important to success.
G. Roles and
Responsibilities
All
references to Education Law made in this section are included in Appendix
A of this manual.
School Board
The
official process for implementing seat belt use must begin with the school
board. See Education Law 3635-a.
for a complete outline of this process. The
school board must first decide whether or not to address the issue of seat belt
use on school buses. Once this
decision has been made, a date must be set for a public meeting where open
discussion on the topic can occur.
If
a decision is made to implement seat belt use, the board must create policy that
is in line with state law. This
policy must define the roles and responsibilities of all groups in the district.
The
next step is to create a plan to bring on board, and initiate input from, as
many persons as possible from the community regarding the new policy.
Parents, students, bus drivers, law enforcement, transportation
directors, building administrators, and others can provide valuable information
and enthusiasm for the decision.
Superintendent
The
superintendent must also play a part in the integration of the plan into the
life of the school district. One
specific responsibility that rests with the superintendent is to verify to the
State Education Department that bus dries have been held in an appropriate
manner per Commissioner's Regulation 156.3(h). This includes proper instruction
in the use of seat belts per Commissioner's Regulation 1 5 6.3 (i).
Transportation
Director
The
manager of the transportation department must promote the policy decision to the
bus drivers, monitors, and mechanics. Bus
drivers want students to behave better on the school bus.
However, drivers may initially be resistant to change.
Therefore, it is important for the transportation manager to identify
specifically how the use of seat belts on buses will make the job of driving and
managing students on the bus less difficult.
In
addition, the transportation manager must assure that bus drivers provide
appropriate training and instruction to students on seat belt use.
School Bus Drivers
School
bus drivers must be positive about seat belt use.
They must always wear their seat belts as required by law.
They must promote the seat belt use policy to the students and explain
the benefits of proper use. Drivers
must be especially aware of explaining the possible differences between seat
belt adjustment in school buses and in cars.
Specific
procedures for bus drivers can be found in Appendix B of this manual.
Drivers must treat the non-use of seat belts as a serious violation of
bus safety rules. Drivers will be
able to see first-hand the benefits of seat belt use in controlling student
behavior.
School Building
Administrators
Administrators
play a vital role in the establishment of a seat belt use program because they
are most often the persons in the district who process bus discipline reports.
They must take this very seriously and understand that lives are at
stake. If they do not consistently
enforce disciplinary actions for the non-use of seat belts, the policy will not
be successfully implemented.
Teachers
Schools
are required to provide thirty periods of safety instruction to all students in
grades one through nine and fifteen periods of instruction for students in
grades ten through twelve per Commissioner's Regulation 107. 1. Seat belt
instruction is a topic that can be integrated into all of the subject areas.
A sample lesson for elementary teachers is included in the Appendix C of
this manual. Many instructional
programs are also available from AAA, county traffic safety boards. and
insurance companies.
Parents
Parents
play an. important role in safety training with children.
If children are taught to use proper safety restraints including car
seats, booster seats, and seat belts in automobiles from an early age, moving to
a seat belt on a school bus will be quite natural.
When parents receive information from the school district about the new
seat belt use policy. they must reinforce the information with their child.
Students
Students
need to be aware not only of the seat belt use policy, but also the reasons
behind the decision. Informed
students will make better choices about their behavior.
H. Seat Belt Policy
Components
Once
a decision has been made to mandate seat belt use, policy must be established
for seat belt use in the district. Important
components of a policy are:-
Some
issues may be best addressed in a procedure’s manual rather than through
policy. These are:-
Sample Seat Belt Use
Policy
Mandated Seat Belt
Use Policy
The school district believes that seat belts on school buses provide an important safety benefit to student passengers. Students will receive school bus seat belt use training three times a year during school bus safety drills.
All
those riding buses equipped with seat belts, including but not limited to bus
drivers, students, teachers, and chaperones, shall wear their seat belts at all
times except when boarding or e-dung the bus.
School bus monitors shall also wear seat belts when they do not need to
be out of their seats for student management.
At no time shall seat belts be released before the bus has come to a.
complete stop. Failure to comply
with this seat belt use policy shall result in student or employee disciplinary
action. Volunteers riding buses who
do not comply will lose their privileges of riding district vehicles.
I. Reasonable Expectations
A
successful seat belt program should have as its long term goal 100% use This
does not mean that less than 100% means failure.
Students who have used seat belts on school buses throughout their school
careers will consider wearing seat belts to be the norm.
When all students riding school buses have always had seat belts
available, and their use recommended, a goal of 100% usage is reasonable.
In
fact, many school districts have experienced successful implementation of seat
belt use policy. In 1983, West
Orange New Jersey implemented seat belt use policy.
Only four years later, the board of education reported that more than 95%
of all students were using their belts and that the use of seat belts had
improved student behavior (SR 222,
p. 85).
A
successful seat belt use implementation program in any school district will
require:-
Appendix
Appendix A
New York State Education Law
3635-a. Safety Belt Usage
1.
A board of education or board of trustees may, in its discretion, following a
public hearing for the purpose of determining whether resolution shall be
adopted, provide for the use of seat belts on school buses, in accordance with
regulations and standards established by the commissioner under subdivision one
of section thirty-six hundred twenty-three of this chapter.
2.
Such a public hearing, conducted upon reasonable notice, shall be held to
consider: a.) whether the district shall install seat belts on buses purchased
and/or contracted for prior to the effective date of this section and require
their use; b.) when such installation shall be provided, and c.) whether use of
seat safety belts shall be required on all school buses within the district so
equipped after a date to be determined by the board of education or board of
trustees.
3.
Such hearings shall consider the effect of seat safety belts installation on the
total number of
students
that can be transported on such buses.
4.
Within twenty days after the public hearing, the board of education or board of
trustees shall,
by
resolution, determine whether to require installation and use on some or all
school buses.
5.
This section shall apply only to vehicles owned or leased by school districts
and nonpublic
schools,
and to vehicles used to perform contracts with such school districts and
nonpublic schools for the purpose of transporting school children for hire.
6.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose a duty upon boards of
education or boards of trustees to provide seat safety belts on school buses
purchased or contracted for prior to the effective date of this section, nor
shall any board of education or board of trustees be held liable for failure to
provide seat safety belts pursuant to this section.
A school board member or trustee shall have immunity from any civil or
criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of
the provisions of this section provided that such person shall have acted in
good faith. For the purpose of any
proceeding, civil or criminal, the good faith of any such person shall be
presumed.
7.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the school districts which are
using safety belts on school buses or have installed or have contracted for the
installation prior to the effective date of this sections
38l3.4
In any action for personal injuries by a passenger on a school bus against a school district, school bus operator under contract with a school district, or any agent or employee of a school district or operator (including, but not limited to. bus drivers, matrons, teachers serving as chaperones, and volunteers) no such person shall be held liable solely because the injured party was not wearing a safety belt, provided however, that nothing contained herein shall be construed to grant immunity from liability or failure to:
a.
maintain in operating order any equipment required by statute. rule, or
regulation,
b.
comply with applicable statutes, rules, or regulations.
156.3
(h) Drill On School Buses
1.
The drills on school buses required by section 3623 of the Education Law shall
include practice and instruction in the location, use and operation of the
emergency door, fire extinguishers, first-aid equipment and windows as a means
of escape in case of fire or accident. Drills
shall also include instruction in safe boarding and safety procedures with
specific emphasis on when and how to approach, board, disembark, and move away
from the bus after disembarking. Each
drill shall include specific instructions for pupils to advance at least 10 feet
in front of the bus before crossing the highway after disembarking. Each drill shall emphasize specific hazards encountered by
children during snow, ice, rain, and other inclement weather, including, but not
necessarily limited to poor driver visibility, reduced vehicular control and
reduced hearing. All such drills
shall include instruction in the importance of orderly conduct by all school bus
passengers with specific emphasis given to student discipline rules and
regulations promulgated by each board of education. Such instruction and the conduct of the drills shall be given
by a member or members of the teaching or pupil transportation staff.
Pupils attending public and nonpublic schools who do not participate in
the drills held pursuant to this paragraph shall also be provided drills on
school buses, or as an alternative, shall be provided classroom Instruction
covering the content of such drills.
2.
A minimum of three such drills shall be held on each school bus during the
school year. the first to be conducted during the first week of the fall term,
the second between November 1st and December 31st and the third between March
1st and April 30th.
3.
No drills shall be conducted when school buses are on routes.
4.
The school authorities shall certify on the annual report to the State Education
Department
that
their district has complied with this subdivision.
156.3 (i) Instruction On Use of Seat Belts
In
each school district in which pupils are transported on school buses equipped
with seat safety belts, such district shall insure that all pupils who are
Imported on any school bus owned, leased or contracted for by the district shall
receive instruction on the use of seat safety belts.
Such instruction shall be provided at least three times a year to both
public and nonpublic school pupils who are so transported and shall include, but
not be limited to:-
1.
Proper fastening and release of seat safety belts
2.
Acceptable placement of seat safety belts on pupils
3.
Times at which the seat belts should be fastened and released: and
4.
Acceptable placement of the seat safety belts when not in use.
School Bus Seat Belt Use Instruction
The
school bus driver or other instructor will need a demonstration seat belt in
order to model correct insertion, release, and adjustment of the buckle. While this lesson can be taught in a classroom, a seat belt
equipped bus is the preferred location
The
instructor should explain to the students that seat belts are an important
safety feature on both school buses and cars.
By keeping students safely in their seats during a school bus accident,
seat belts improve the possibility of escaping injury.
School buses built after July 1987 are equipped with seat belts.
Students should use this important safety feature when available.
The
instructor should demonstrate proper insertion of the tongue end and release of
the seat belt, and should ask the students to practice In their seats. The
Instructor should walk up and down the aisle to observe the practice and help
any students who are having problems using the buckle.
Students
should be instructed to wear the belt low and across the hip-bone.
The instructor should demonstrate how to adjust the belt, and should ask
students to practice belt adjustment. The students should first be asked to
loosen the belt as far as possible and demonstrate this by holding the extended
belt up In the air. The Instructor
should observe that all students have extended the belts.
Students should then fasten and tighten their belts as the instructor has
modeled. Again, the instructor
should walk up and down the aisle to sure that all students have fastened their
belts snugly across their laps.
The
instructor should explain to the students that seat belts should be fastened as
soon as they sit down after getting on the bus, and released only after the bus
has stopped at the school or bus stop. Students
should never leave the protection of the seat belt while the bus is in motion.
Finally,
the instructor should explain the impact of seat belt use in emergency
evacuations. Students may have to
assist other injured students in unbuckling their seat belts in emergency
situations. If the bus is upside
down, they may need to unbuckle themselves or others to drop to the floor
(ceiling). The instructor should
identify the location of the seat belt cutter and demonstrate its use on a piece
of seat belt material. Students
should understand that if the driver is incapacitated, they might need to use
the seat belt cutter.
Finally,
the instructor should explain that seat belts should be laid across the seat as
the students exit, not pushed down into the seat or dropped into the aisle.
The
instructor should engage students in a question and answer session to be sure
they are learning from the instruction:-
If
the school district has a policy requiring seat belt use, the instructor should
explain that not using seat belts will result in disciplinary action.
Appendix C
Instruction in the Classroom
Teacher Responsibilities
Bus
safety instruction is mandated in schools.
If seat belt use policy is adopted in a school district, teachers will
play an important role in its success. Teachers
can reinforce the importance of proper seat belt use through instruction.
The topic of seat belt use can serve as a fun classroom theme and can be
integrated into the areas of language arts, science, and social studies.
Sample Lesson
The
following lesson can be used with children in grades K-3 to instruct students on
the use of seat belts on school buses. The
lesson is adapted from K-6 School Bus
Safety Classroom Curriculum and may be found on pages 56-66 of the K-3 section of this manual. This manual is available from the Pupil Transportation Safety
Institute, 443 South Warren Street, Syracuse, New York 13202.
Curriculum Goal
Students
will consistently demonstrate safe riding behaviors on the school bus with
emphasis on the proper use of seat belts.
Instructional Objectives
1.
Seated riders are less likely to be injured.
2.
Seat belts keep riders in their seats.
Attitudes:-
1.
Students can increase safety by obeying rules.
2.
Safety is everyone's responsibility
1
.Describe safe
passenger riding behaviors.
2.
Perform/describe proper procedures for locating, fastening/unfastening, and
adjusting a lap-type belt.
3.
Describe the benefits of using a seat belt on a school bus
Materials
Procedure
1.
Using a wagon loaded with blocks or dolls, demonstrate what happens when a
vehicle:-
Ask
children to think of what they would do to keep safe if they were passengers in
this situation. Elicit: 1. staying
seated and 2. using seat belts as responses.
2.
Ask children how many of them always use seat belts when riding in a family car. Point out
to
them that all riders in automobiles must wear seat belts since it is a law in
New York State.
3.
Choose a volunteer to demonstrate fastening and unfastening the lap-type,
two-ended seat
belt.
Discuss the differences in a lap and shoulder type.
4.
Explain to the students that they will have a lap-type seat belt to wear on the
school bus.
Distribute
Activity Sheet II.3B. Call attention to the middle picture that shows where a
lap seat
belt
should "ride" (across the hips, not stomach) when buckled.
Review the steps for fastening
and
adjusting the seat belts as shown in the activity sheet.
Have all of the children pantomime,
then
practice, fastening, adjusting, and unfastening the lap-type belt.
Some students with
handicapping
conditions may need help when completing this activity. -
5.
Have the students brainstorm in small or large groups, the possible benefits of
using seatbelts
on
school buses. Discuss.
Assessment
1.
Each student should be able to fasten/unfasten and properly adjust a lap-type
belt.
2.
Each student should be able to explain the benefits of wearing a seat belt on a
school bus and
car.
Additional Activities
1.
Make seat belts from strips of paper 3 inches wide (adding machine paper
works well).
Help
children make up safety slogans that focus on riding behaviors.
2.
Give students an assignment to count how many people they see in cars who
are wearing
seat
belts on their way home from school. Point
out to the students that all riders in an automobile must wear seat belts, since
it is the law in New York State.
3.
Take students to a busy street or intersection to record the number of
cars with passengers
wearing
seat belts.
4.
Have students devise their own experiments to test the hypothesis: An
object in motion
tends
to remain in motion. Relate cars
and seat belts.
5.
Have students read and color activity sheets II.3B and II.3F
Resources
Beltman
Traffic Safety Education Kit, Film Loops inc., P.O. Box 2233,
Princeton, NJ 08940
If, (a
video containing three ten minute sections on seat belt use in cars, school bus
vans, and full size school buses), Seven Oaks Productions, 9145 Sligo Creek
Parkway, Silver Springs, Maryland 20901
Appendix D
Special
Report 222
Synopsis on Lap belt Effectiveness
Review
of the effectiveness of seat belts in reducing injury in school bus accidents
was based on four types of studies: a.) inferences drawn from statistical
evaluations of the effectiveness of seat belts in the rear seats of passenger
cars, b.) crash tests (UCLA and Canada), c.) sled tests, and d.) analyses of
real-world accidents.
Studies
of the effectiveness of seat belts in reducing injuries to occupants in the rear
seats of passenger cars suggest that seat belts may reduce the number of
fatalities by 20 percent and serious and fatal injuries by 40 percent.
The
crash tests and sled tests reviewed by the committee did not suggest that seat
belts (lap belts) would or would not be effective in frontal collisions.
However, there were relatively few crash tests and sled tests available
for the committee to review. Furthermore,
the validity of some of the tests was questionable because of the
instrumentation employed and the biofidelity of the dummies used.
Dummies restrained by lap belts in both the crash tests and sled tests
sustained higher HIC values and lower chest g's than did comparable unbelted
dummies. However, the HIC values
recorded for both belted and unbelted dummies were consistently within the
acceptable range. Had additional
crash and sled test data simulating side impacts and rollovers been available,
the benefits of seat belts might have been more apparent.
Finally, the in-depth analyses of the effectiveness of seat belts in severe school bus crashes (e.g., NTBS study) suggest little if any benefit attributable to set belt use. However, only a small number of cases were reviewed in these analyses, and the methodology was subjective.
From
its review, the committee concludes that seat belts, when properly used on
large, post-1977, buses are not inherently harmful and that they may reduce the
likelihood of death of or injury to passengers involved in school bus crashes by
up to 20 percent. The potential
benefit to be realized from the use of seat belts in school buses is somewhat
less than the benefit afforded rear seat occupants in passenger cars because the
greater mass and safe operating conditions of school buses reduce the initial
risk of death of and injury to school bus occupants.
On the other hand, fewer belt-induced injuries can be expected to the
abdomen of children using properly adjusted seat belts on firm school bus seats,
as compared with softer seats in passenger cars, because of better belt fit and
reduced potential for submarining. (SR 222, pp. 82-83).
Instruction in the Classroom
1.
Sit down in the seat. Place
your books and belongings on the seat next to you or ask a
seatmate
to hold them for you. Take one end
of the belt in each hand, and lengthen the seat belt if it is too short.
2.
Sit straight up with your back touching the seat back. Insert the "tongue" end into the end
with
the buckle. Listen for the
"click”. If it doesn't go
around you, pull the tongue end to make it longer.
3.
The seat belt should be snug across your lap.
Ilghten the seat belt by pumng the loose end.
Keep
your seat belt fastened until the bus stops at your school or bus stop.
•
Adapted from K-6 School Bus Safety Curriculum
•
Activity Sheet II.3B
Bibliography
Bayer,
A.R. 1978. School
Bus Passenger Seat and Lap Belt Sled
Tests.
Report
DOT HS 804 985, NHTSA, U.S. Department of Transportation.
Farr,
G.N. 1985a. School
Bus Safety Study (Vol.I). Report TP 6222E.
Transport Canada,
Ottawa,
Ontario.
Gardner,
A.M. and M. Goldhammer. 1986. School Bus Safety Belts: Their Use
Carryover Effects and Administrative Issues.
Report DOT HS 806 965. NHTSA,
U.S. Department of Transportation.
NTSB.
1986. Safety
Study Performance of Lap-Belts in
26 Frontal Crashes. Report NTSB/SS-86/03.
Washington, D.C.
NTSB.
1987. Safety
Study-Crashworthiness of Large Poststandard Schoolbuses.
Report NTSB/SS-87/01. Washington,
D.C.
Spital,
Martha B.A., Spital, Aaron, M.D., & Spital, Robin, Ph.D. (1986).
The Compelling Case For Seat Belts
on School Buses. Pediatrics,
78(5), Rochester. New York.
Transportation
Research Board, National Research Council. 1989.
Special Report 222: Improving School
Bus Safety. Washington D.C.