"A rear-end, lateral or rollover collision can cause children to become human missiles as they are thrown from their seats, into one another, or into aisles. Accident victims not in their seats block quick evacuation. . . Seat belts save lives, prevent injuries, and it's beyond my comprehension why they are still, in 2010, not on school buses," Waltham Fire Chief Richard Cardillo, Spring 2010
"If you have a seat belt on a school bus, you should wear it!" Charles Hott, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, September 2010.
Government safety experts, physicians, and hundreds of school districts agree: School buses need seat belts, and children should be taught to USE them! Without seat belts, bus riders a re catapulted into aisles and windows or ejected onto the road. Waltham4Seatbelts is a citizens group that believes seat belts should be required on all buses large and small.
Learn the facts about seat belts. Click HERE for an overview of seat belt facts and fallacies including commonly asked questions about seat belts, and our current recommendations for seat belt training.
Inside: Marshfield students saved by seatbelts, new motorcoaches required to have belts in 2013, and more...
Teach your child that buckling up could save her life....really.
Waltham, MA Now Has Seatbelts on School Buses!
In March 2011, Waltham School Committee members voted to require that lap/shoulder seat belts be available on Waltham school buses, starting in September, 2011. Thank you Waltham school committee, Mayor, and our Fire Chief for your support of seat belts and safer school buses! Waltham is now part of the growing national trend recognizing that seat belts on buses save lives. The federal National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, which regulates the standards for three-point lap/shoulder belts for school buses, recommends adding seat belts to all school buses and mandates belts for the smaller, more top-heavy buses. (It also requires all bus drivers to have seat belts.) Several U.S. states such as NJ, NY and Texas have mandated seat belts for all school buses in their states. But belts can't save lives if people don't wear them. So please tell your children: Buckle Up on the Bus!
Additional Supporting Information on Seat Belts:
Articles, whte papers, research, and gov't statements on the use of seat belts in preventing injuries on school buses.
> The Center for Auto Safety, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Consumers Union, and many other organizations are demanding that the federal goverment require lap/shoulder belts on ALL school buses. Read their STATEMENT AND PETITION and you'll see why belts are so critical.
> Read the National Transportation Safety Board report on a Florida school bus crash in which lap belts saved lives. The NTSB states, "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the Milton, Florida, accident was the school bus driver’s failure . . . to maintain her traffic lane, which resulted in the bus being struck from behind. . . Injury severity was mitigated by the use of lap belts. . [and the NTSB report goes on to note that] . . In its final rule on school bus crash protection, NHTSA estimated that lap/shoulder belts in school buses may reduce rollover fatalities by 74 percent. "
More Links to Research and Facts about Seat Belts
For more information on SafeGuard seats,
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