Why aren’t children wearing American school buses?

Author of the channel That American Life on Yandex Zen told why in the US in school buses children are not wearing seat belts. Next - from the first person.

Photo: Shutterstock

Sending children to an American school, you can notice one feature: unlike a trip by car, in most school buses they do not need to fasten their seat belts. Also, buses do not use child seats or booster chairs. Why is there such a difference between how children are transported in cars and school buses, we will understand further.

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At first glance, this may seem strange, but it is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States that is the body that advocates that it is not necessary to fasten school buses. Moreover, in most buses you simply will not find these belts. Such recommendations are based on many years of research and the belief that the school bus is one of the safest means of transportation.

Modern school buses are designed for better crash and rollover protection: they are very heavy and generally do not travel at high speeds. The interior design of the bus and the seating arrangement also affect the safety of children. The chairs are very close together and have high backs, which is why this layout is called an “egg crate”. It turns out that the children do not seem to be restrained by anything, but in the event of an accident, their movement will be limited due to the specific structure of the seats.

scary moments inside @CrosbyISD school bus last friday. Tonight camera on that bus shows those moments #KHOU pic.twitter.com/zthkrDTln7

- Josh Chapin (@ JoshChapinABC11) October 1, 2016

In addition to the design features of the bus, the safety of its passengers is affected by how other drivers relate to this vehicle. High fines and the risk of losing rights, or even thundering in jail due to violations associated with dangerous driving in the school zone or near the school bus, encourage people to take responsible behavior on the road.

To date, seat belts are needed only in small school buses (up to 4535 kg), as well as in new-type buses that operate in Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Texas.

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But at the federal level, there is no law providing for mandatory fastening of schoolchildren in American school buses, since it is 70 times safer to get to this school by car than by car.

As reported by ForumDaily:

• School bus drivers in the US abuse alcohol and drugs.
• Throughout the country, more than 1620 schoolchildren in 38 states have been in danger since 2015 by bus drivers who have been arrested or charged with driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
• School transportation groups note that buses are the safest means for students to travel to school. According to group representatives, most drivers would never put their children at risk. None of these incidents resulted in the death of a driver or passenger, and most students were not injured.
• Many federal authorities were unable to collect information on school bus drivers with impairments.
• Although school districts are aware of individual cases. These data are generally not collected, aggregated or analyzed at the state level.

Original blog post That American Life on Yandex Zen.

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