Grand Thoughts: Seat belts in buses are a good idea

It’s been a hectic month with the fires, tornadoes and the tragic bus crash that took the lives of six precious little children.

I remember the gut-wrenching pain I felt when I heard about the bus crash and learned that children had died. Some of the children were the same ages as my two granddaughters, and I couldn’t begin to imagine the loss their parents, grandparents and families felt when getting the news.

Having always been a stickler for seat belts, one of the first things to cross my mind was whether they would have made a difference. My gut feeling is that they would have at least prevented some injuries and perhaps even saved some lives.

But I don’t know. What I do know is that the children were tossed around when the bus overturned and were likely hurt as a result. So nothing will convince me that seat belts wouldn’t have prevented some injuries.

I posted my stance on Facebook, and it prompted an interesting conversation with like-minded people as well as those who believed seat belts would not have made a difference.

According to a recent CNN report, only six states – New York, California, New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana and Texas – have laws requiring seat belts. And, the report noted something I consider to be very important: The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Safety Council recommends passenger seat belts be installed on newly manufactured school buses.

That’s enough to convince me that our children need to be buckled up when they’re in any kind of motorized vehicle. From the moment a child first rides in a car, truck, whatever, it’s the law that they, as well as adults, be buckled up. But when they get on a school bus, there is no law.

Heck, I can remember as a kid rushing to sit in the back of the bus because it was fun when the bus hit bumps. The kids in back went flying up, but we all knew to hold onto the seat in front of us.

My college roommate wasn’t so lucky. She was in a school bus accident as a kid and suffered serious injuries and to this day does not like school buses.

My grandchildren often ride a school bus. Their driver is known to be careful and does not tolerate children breaking safety rules. In fact, he reported my granddaughter for changing seats after the bus had pulled out of the school property. A fourth-grader, she didn’t grasp why she had gotten in trouble and, frankly at the time, I didn’t either. But now I do. The driver didn’t want any children standing up because it poses a danger.

But some of my Facebook friends offered interesting arguments on why seat belts could even be harmful. “Seat belts can all too easily be used by unruly students as a weapon. There is no enforcement on seat belts, and, in case of an accident where fire is a concern, it is a greater risk to children,” one young man said.

Another friend, an educator, said there’s little evidence that seat belts in school buses would save lives.

“Under current law, if those kids had been riding in cars, they not only would have required seat belts, they’d have required booster seats as well (because seat belts don’t always restrain smaller bodies correctly),” he said. “Because of the position of seats and its height above the road, a school bus is already safer than a car. Plus, in a situation where evacuation time is important (a fire, for example) getting 30-50 panicky elementary kids out of seat belts costs valuable time.

“Other than the obvious tragedy of six young people dying too young, the other reason this was big news is that school bus accidents with fatalities (on the bus) are extraordinarily rare. More people die each year falling out of bed than in school bus accidents. Requiring seat belts in buses may make everyone feel safer, but it’s questionable if it’s actually effective.”

I am not convinced.

The CNN report said that, even though 500 children and teens die each year in car accidents during school travel hours, only about four are killed while riding school buses during those same hours, according to a 2014 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Again, I’m not convinced.

And we know, of course, that money is a factor. Seat-belt installation would be expensive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that equipping a large school bus with seat belts would cost between $7,346 and $10,296.

Still, a child’s life is priceless.

After the accident, Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, told The Tennessean newspaper that he called the legislature’s legal staff and asked them to draft legislation to require seat belts in all Tennessee school buses.

Time will tell if McCormick’s efforts result in seat belts on school buses but, as a grandmother of three little children, I’d be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including lobbying for the law and participating in fundraisers to help pay the expense of having seat belts installed.

Right after the accident, though, I knew there was something that I could do. I went to Blood Assurance the next day and waited for nearly three hours to give my much-needed O negative blood.

After I stood in line and got a number, I found a vacant seat that happened to be next to my daughter, Kacee, who was there, unbeknownst to me, to donate her O negative blood. Kacee, the mother of my three grandchildren, felt she had to do something to help those children, too.

I was in awe of all the people who showed up to help. Many local restaurants sent food for the Blood Assurance staff and donors throughout the day. It was heartwarming to see so many compassionate people come together. It made me realize that we are, indeed, Chattanooga strong.

Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com.