National Safety Board Rejects Shoulder Belts for School Buses as Too Costly

[The Straight Story]

National Safety Board Rejects Shoulder Belts for School Buses as Too Costly

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has rejected safety advocates’ attempt to mandate shoulder-lap seat belts in large school buses. Such seat belts are required on smaller school buses.

Nearly a half-million school buses transport children each year, and at an estimated cost of $375 to $600 per belt to install on each bus seat, federal regulators decided the change was too expensive to justify for companies.

The NHTSA insists school buses are already a safe bet, and point to statistics showing the buses have a fatality rate six times lower than passenger cars. On average 19 schoolchildren die each year in bus-related accidents, with only five occurring on buses (the rest happen in loading zones).

But organizations such as The Center for Auto Safety and The National Coalition for School Bus Safety refuse to accept the federal government’s rationale, saying it runs counter to justifications for mandating restraints in virtually every other type of vehicle under regulation.

http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/National_Safety_Board_Rejects_Shoulder_Belts_for_School_Buses_as_Too_Costly_110829

[mike_c]

1. how much does it cost to bury a kid...?

Seems like a Faustian bargain.

[TheWraith]

2. The question is, how much do you pay to save one life?

Most people would say human life is priceless. But that's not really true, is it? We weigh human life against cost and convenience all the time. The value of having cars is worth the 40,000 plus people a year killed in car accidents. We don't think, for instance, that it's worth sending a $1.5 million dollar cruise missile for each enemy, instead of a soldier risking their life.

So the old saw that "it's worth it if it saves one life" isn't really true. Particularly when you have limited resources and have to choose the best way to use them. For instance, suppose you could take the amount of money that would go to outfitting school buses with shoulder belts, and use that money to fund improved safety training for school bus drivers, which resulted in MORE lives being saved than shoulder belts? Shoulder belts might save lives, but you could only choose one. Or you spend the money on more safety inspections for big-rig trucks, saving even more lives somewhere else.

It's easy for people to sit back and say "there ought to be a law!" It's not so easy to make the real world decisions that come with trying to do the most good for the most people.

[jberryhill]

6. Strangling one with a belt, or beating one with a buckle is free

...if the belts are installed.

I guess the assumption is that seat belts in school buses would have prevented those five deaths out of the millions of kids that ride them every morning.

However, making sure that every seat is equipped with a potential weapon also introduces certain risks.

[Bragi]

3. Belts make little sense in school buses

I don't support seat belts in school buses. The age and weight differences of the passengers mean you need sizing of belts, which requires supervision or the kids get the wrong restraints and are worse off.

The seating in school buses is currently designed to cocoon students in most crashes (which are usually from the side and low speed). Think "egg cartons" and you get the idea. It's counter-intuitive, but it's safer than having seat belts.

[TheMadMonk]

4. How dare you bring logic to an emotive argument? /nt

[Bragi]

5. My apologies to all. I lost control /nt