ITRE / News / News Archives / News Release 7-31-07

NC State School Transportation Expert Testifies at National Bus Safety Forum

July 31, 2007

Raleigh, NC - Jeff Tsai, director of the pupil transportation program at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education, was invited to speak at a public meeting on “Seat Belts on School Buses,” sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Conducted in Washington, DC, the July 11 meeting included opening remarks by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and launched a public comment period on the issue of seat belt use on large school buses that will run through September 10, 2007.

Tsai, who also serves as chair of the Transportation Research Board Subcommittee on School Transportation, presented information on North Carolina’s experience with the optional use of lap/shoulder seat belts since 13 pilot buses were equipped with these restraints in 2003.  This pilot study was funded by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

“Public perception about safety has increased as a result of equipping the buses with seat belts,” said Tsai, “but additional questions have emerged, particularly with regard to increased bus costs, reduced bus capacity, driver/student training, enforcement and emergency evacuation procedures.”

According to research data collected by NHTSA, an average of 21 school-age passengers die in school bus-related crashes in the United States each year:  6 passengers on board the bus and 15 pedestrians walking to or from school buses. The majority of fatalities associated with school-age children involve passenger cars, especially those with teen drivers. Tsai also served as a member of this study committee, assembled by the National Research Council at the National Academy of Sciences.

Statistics show that school buses are the safest form of transportation on highways due in part to the rigorous safety standards established during the mid 1970s. Under existing regulation, a safety concept called compartmentalization, which protects occupants by using strong, closely spaced seats equipped with high, absorbing seat backs, has proven very effective at preventing serious injuries and fatalities for school-aged passengers.

In 1999 the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated six school bus accidents in which passenger fatalities or serious injuries occurred away from the area of impact, and many of the passengers were thrown from their compartments. While compartmentalization was found overall to be an effective means of protecting school bus passengers in this study, the NTSB reported that other means of occupant protection should also be examined. In 2007, the NTSB included on its “Most Wanted” list a call to federal agencies to devise new standards to protect school bus passengers from being thrown out of their seats or ejected when a school bus sustains a front, side, or rear impact or rolls over. Many states are also considering legislation that requires use of seatbelts on school buses as an additional safety measure.

In the North Carolina pilot study, Tsai found that if all school buses were equipped with lap/shoulder restraints, then an estimated 5 to 15 percent increase in the school bus vehicle fleet would be required to compensate for the decrease in seating capacity.

“Without funding to purchase additional buses to compensate for the capacity reduction, school bus rides may be more crowded and longer in duration,” Tsai said.  “The unintended consequence may be negative impacts to the levels of service, and parents might elect to drive their children to school in a passenger car, which would further create congestion on already crowded roadways during school morning and afternoon bell times.”

Decision making about seat belts on school buses remains a complex issue with significant safety, policy, and economic implications. This public forum was designed to encourage more discussion about how to improve school bus safety.

For more information on this meeting and how to submit comments to the federal docket, please visit http://dms.dot.gov.

Located on NCSU Centennial Campus, ITRE is an inter-institutional center that serves all 16 campuses of the University of North Carolina. For more information about ITRE, please visit www.itre.ncsu.edu.

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