In the wake of a tragic school bus crash involving a dump truck in New Jersey in 2018, which resulted in the death of a teacher and a student, one company has made three-point seat belts standard on all school buses. According to CBS News, this decision was made after an incident that highlighted the importance of safety measures for students.
More than 25 million students ride the school bus every day, making it one of the safest forms of transportation for them. However, most school buses do not have seat belts. Blue Bird has announced that their new buses will now be equipped with three-point seat belts for every passenger. In addition, driver airbags will be included from next year at no extra cost.
A recent crash test conducted at IMMI’s Advanced Product Evaluation Center demonstrated the effectiveness of three-point seat belts. During the test, a box truck collided with a non-moving bus at 40 mph. Those on the bus who were wearing seat belts remained safely in place, while the unbelted mannequins were thrown around after the impact.
Over a 10-year period, about 1,110 people lost their lives in school bus crashes, which is an average of 111 deaths per year. Most of these victims were drivers in other vehicles and pedestrians, and on average only six students on the bus died in such accidents. This highlights the importance of safety measures like seat belts to prevent further tragedies from occurring on our roads and highways.