Schoolbus Safety

A couple of weeks ago a 16 year old student was killed when the schoolbus in which he was riding went off the road. His bus was not equipped with any kind of seat belts. This happened in Connecticut. Before you condemn CT for being behind the times consider the following:

Of all 50 states only California requires both lap and shoulder belts on all schoolbuses. New York, New Jersey and Florida require lap belts and beginning this year Texas is requiring lap belts on new buses. According to SafeGuard4kids.com most activities to improve schoolbus regulations begin with grassroots movements.

Considering schoolbus safety there are two choices- do nothing and wait for the next tragedy to occur or drive the grassroots movement in your area- help people to understand the risk and the need. Contact local legislatures to author and sponsor a bill. You may also contact your federal representatives and tell them you support changes to the Federal Motor Vehicle safety Standards to include seatbelts on schoolbuses.

You can make a difference.

Tweeners and Innovation

For the purpose of this discussion a tweener is a child who has outgrown a car seat and is too small for a conventional shoulder and lap belt configuration. The proper course of action to secure this group is to use booster seats. However, three states have no laws requiring the use of booster seats and in many others the requirements are vague and not enforced. In most cases of a tweener a shoulder belt does not fit correctly and the lap belt by itself is dangerous. Not knowing better many parents will tuck the shoulder belt behind the child, unaware of the hazard this poses.

Ford recently demonstrated a new shoulder harness with an air bag built into it. This is a tremendous improvement for all- especially for children. Regardless of the law in your state, regardless of whether you are required to use a booster seat- do it for the safety and life of your child. For more information on the new airbag and a compelling story to use booster seats please see the following Today Show video.