Update: New Safety Rules for School Buses

Yesterday, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced new safety rules for school buses. Beginning in 2011, buses weighing 5 tons or less (smaller buses that generally seat 16-20 students) will be required to have a shoulder/torso seat belt in addition to the lap belt that is currently required. Larger buses will be required to increase the seat back heights, all in hopes of better protecting students in case of violent crashes.

As we wrote yesterday, child safety experts recommend extra safety measures for vehicles transporting smaller children, including weight- and height- specific restraints and safety monitors. This move by Secretary Peters works to address these concerns. Many young children ride on smaller buses, though they ride on larger buses too, which will not be covered by the new rule.

In the rules, David Kelly, Acting Commissioner of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, writes that the upgrades will not present a significant economic burden to bus manufacturers, though the cost will likely be borne by school districts in the end. The Department estimates the cost of retrofitting a small bus will range from $1,166 to $2,481 per bus, while it will cost about $125 to upgrade larger buses. Kelley writes that the Department supports using Highway Safety Grants to help pay for the upgrades. Given the challenges facing districts that upgrade to accommodate pre-kindergarten-sized children, we wonder if it will be as easy as they expect. Either way, districts should keep in mind the safety of their smallest passengers as they work to comply with these new safety rules.