Anyone who has read this page long enough knows where we stand on the use of seat belts. Buckle up. Click it or ticket. Love it or hate it — and we have readers on both sides of the issue — but we’re all for it.
Despite some people’s claim that the mandatory seat belt law is one more example of government intruding in our daily lives, we believe it’s worth it because seat belts save lives.
That reasoning does not extend to school buses, however. The wheels on this bus will have to go round and round a lot longer before we’re convinced the need really exists and the state has the money to cover it.
State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe’s bill to require seat belts on all school buses by 2010 appears well-meaning. Though the bill wasn’t sparked by public outcry or a major accident, McAuliffe argues it is better to be safe than sorry. Preventive measures can be wise. But this one comes with a price tag and officials who say our nation’s big school buses are already designed to keep kids safe.
Instead of seat belts, the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission determined that "compartmentalization" was the best way to keep kids on schools buses secure. That means those big green seats placed close together with high, energy-absorbing backs are doing the job of keeping kids protected, studies show. Smaller buses that weigh less than 10,000 pounds are required to have belts in every seat. And that makes perfect sense since those smaller buses are closer in size to the vehicles we drive every day.
Further, if students on all Washington school buses are required to buckle up, who will make sure each child is strapped in correctly? The busy bus driver trying to keep 65 kids from wrestling with each other while navigating crowded roads? If kids decide to unbuckle themselves — and you know they would — does that mean the driver would have to pull over each time? It simply isn’t logical to expect these drivers to take on one more critical task while operating such a huge vehicle.
McAuliffe’s bill proposes $500,000 to get the project started. It would likely cost more, even before maintenance is considered. Financially strapped school districts are already shelling out extra dollars to put cameras on buses so they can keep track of disruptive riders.
The state simply can’t afford to fix something that doesn’t appear to be broken.
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