Seat belts or no, school buses are safe for kids, officials say

Last update: February 19, 2008 - 11:24 PM

Despite Tuesday's tragedy, school buses are still the safest way for children to travel to and from school, state and federal safety officials say.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said Tuesday that from 2000 through 2006, there were 25 school-bus-related fatalities in the state, and none involved bus passengers or drivers. Preliminary 2007 figures show one passenger fatality and one driver fatality.

On average, six children are killed aboard U.S. school buses each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Federal law does not require seat belts on large school buses. California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Texas have passed laws to put seat belts on all school buses. Attempts to pass such legislation in Minnesota have failed.

The NHSTA and other safety organizations say that the high seat backs on school buses offer adequate and in some ways superior protection.

Mike Martin, spokesman for the National Association for Pupil Transportation, based in Albany, N.Y., said in a 2006 interview with the Star Tribune that tests have shown that bus lap belts may contribute to abdominal and spinal injuries. Officials also worry that students might not unbuckle them quickly.

Lt. Mark Peterson of the Minnesota State Patrol said there was "no way to know" if seat belts might have made a difference in the crash near Cottonwood.

Julie Graves, who was aboard the school bus that was crossing the Interstate 35W bridge when it collapsed in August, said she couldn't imagine what it would have been like to try to unfasten the seat belts of so many kids. "They got out real quick," she said.

JIM FOTI

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