Bill would make seat belts standard on school buses
It’s been argued for years.
Is it safer to belt kids into school buses? Or are they safe just the way they are in buses built to “compartmentalize” them in well-anchored seats with high backs and good padding, with wide aisles and the ability to absorb energy when kids are crashing around?
Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff argued Tuesday for the seat belts. And 32 other senators agreed, advancing a bill (LB1092) that would require school districts to buy buses with seat belts as they add to their fleets.
Compartmentalization, Harms said, is overrated.
Senators didn’t seem to need too much convincing about the safety issue, but they did have questions about the cost to school districts and how a district decides which kids get to ride in the buses with and without seat belts during the years they have both.
Some of the senators were concerned about yet another unfunded mandate for districts – the thing their constituents seem to fuss about most.
Harms estimated that seat belts could add up to $10,000 to the price of a new school bus, which already cost more than $60,000.
Property tax payers would likely foot the bill for the increased costs.
An attempt by Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center to have the state appropriate funds for new seat belt-equipped buses was defeated on an 8-23 vote.
The bill would require school districts to begin buying buses with seat belts in 2010, but Harms said he will consider changing that to 2012 for the second round of debate to make sure schools get the latest and best technology.
Every student would be required to wear a seat belt, and bus drivers would check before pulling out to make sure each child is buckled in and belts are correctly adjusted. The driver would not be held responsible, however, for kids unbuckling after that.
Districts would be required to give students instruction on proper use of seat belts twice a year.
The bill would not change liability of a district for an injury caused by failure to use belts or misuse of belts, or for districts that continued to use older buses not equipped with belts.
Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, an attorney, said the school districts would have protection with the bill. Eventually, he said, there will be another bad bus crash, and not having seat belts would expose those districts to liability.
“This is proactive,” he said. “It minimizes liability.”
Senators defeated an amendment on a 23-21 vote that would have added private, parochial and denominational schools to the requirement for seat belts in buses.
Sen. Chris Langemeier of Schuyler asked where parochial schools would get the money for the buses.
Langemeier also questioned how students would be protected from flying objects in overhead racks – such as heavy band instruments – during a crash.
Nebraska had seven fatal school bus crashes and 216 injury crashes in the 11-year period between 1993 and 2003, according to the Nebraska Department of Roads.
Three students and a parent died as the result of a crash in Douglas County in 2001, when a bus carrying Seward High School band members crashed through a guardrail and fell 49 feet into a shallow creek below.
One survivor of the Seward bus crash – Tait Rief – testified earlier at the hearing in favor of Harms’ bill.
Rief said he and others in the bus who weren’t prepared for the crash or not strong enough to adequately brace themselves became human missiles. They suffered broken arms, hips, legs and pelvises; cuts; bruises; scrapes and internal injuries from banging into each other and into the bus.
Reif had a head injury, and his medical expenses have reached nearly $1.5 million, he said. He has lost short-term memory, independence, the ability to work for an income and friendships.
“It’s time we correct this issue,” Harms said during Tuesday’s debate.
When the bill comes back for second-round debate, he said, it will define better what is meant by “new” buses, and it will clarify best practices for student training and guidelines for purchasing buses.
Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.
Is it safer to belt kids into school buses? Or are they safe just the way they are in buses built to “compartmentalize” them in well-anchored seats with high backs and good padding, with wide aisles and the ability to absorb energy when kids are crashing around?
Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff argued Tuesday for the seat belts. And 32 other senators agreed, advancing a bill (LB1092) that would require school districts to buy buses with seat belts as they add to their fleets.
Compartmentalization, Harms said, is overrated.
Senators didn’t seem to need too much convincing about the safety issue, but they did have questions about the cost to school districts and how a district decides which kids get to ride in the buses with and without seat belts during the years they have both.
Some of the senators were concerned about yet another unfunded mandate for districts – the thing their constituents seem to fuss about most.
Harms estimated that seat belts could add up to $10,000 to the price of a new school bus, which already cost more than $60,000.
Property tax payers would likely foot the bill for the increased costs.
An attempt by Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center to have the state appropriate funds for new seat belt-equipped buses was defeated on an 8-23 vote.
The bill would require school districts to begin buying buses with seat belts in 2010, but Harms said he will consider changing that to 2012 for the second round of debate to make sure schools get the latest and best technology.
Every student would be required to wear a seat belt, and bus drivers would check before pulling out to make sure each child is buckled in and belts are correctly adjusted. The driver would not be held responsible, however, for kids unbuckling after that.
Districts would be required to give students instruction on proper use of seat belts twice a year.
The bill would not change liability of a district for an injury caused by failure to use belts or misuse of belts, or for districts that continued to use older buses not equipped with belts.
Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, an attorney, said the school districts would have protection with the bill. Eventually, he said, there will be another bad bus crash, and not having seat belts would expose those districts to liability.
“This is proactive,” he said. “It minimizes liability.”
Senators defeated an amendment on a 23-21 vote that would have added private, parochial and denominational schools to the requirement for seat belts in buses.
Sen. Chris Langemeier of Schuyler asked where parochial schools would get the money for the buses.
Langemeier also questioned how students would be protected from flying objects in overhead racks – such as heavy band instruments – during a crash.
Nebraska had seven fatal school bus crashes and 216 injury crashes in the 11-year period between 1993 and 2003, according to the Nebraska Department of Roads.
Three students and a parent died as the result of a crash in Douglas County in 2001, when a bus carrying Seward High School band members crashed through a guardrail and fell 49 feet into a shallow creek below.
One survivor of the Seward bus crash – Tait Rief – testified earlier at the hearing in favor of Harms’ bill.
Rief said he and others in the bus who weren’t prepared for the crash or not strong enough to adequately brace themselves became human missiles. They suffered broken arms, hips, legs and pelvises; cuts; bruises; scrapes and internal injuries from banging into each other and into the bus.
Reif had a head injury, and his medical expenses have reached nearly $1.5 million, he said. He has lost short-term memory, independence, the ability to work for an income and friendships.
“It’s time we correct this issue,” Harms said during Tuesday’s debate.
When the bill comes back for second-round debate, he said, it will define better what is meant by “new” buses, and it will clarify best practices for student training and guidelines for purchasing buses.
Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.
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