Feb 20, 2008 8:44 am US/Central
Officials: Buses Safe Even Without Seat Belts
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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Federal law does not require seat belts on large school buses.
CBS
School buses are the safest way for children to travel to and from school, even if they don't have seat belts, safety experts said.
Lt. Mark Peterson, spokesman for the Minnesota State Patrol, said there was "no way to know" if seat belts might have made a difference in the crash that killed four students near Cottonwood on Tuesday.
Federal law does not require seat belts on large school buses. California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Texas require seat belts on all school buses. Attempts to pass such a requirement in Minnesota have failed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the high seat backs on school buses offer adequate and in some ways superior protection.
Six children on average are killed aboard U.S. school buses each year, according to NHTSA figures.
From 2000 through 2006, there were 25 school-bus-related fatalities in Minnesota, but none involved bus passengers or drivers, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Preliminary 2007 figures show one passenger fatality and one driver fatality.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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