The family here at Rocky View Publishing was devastated to hear about a school bus and a large work truck colliding on a highway north of Crossfield that sent nine people, including eight children, to hospital on Oct. 25. (See story on page 9).
In the newspaper business, we report on collisions nearly every week but it always hits us a little harder when there are children involved.
The cause of the accident had not been determined by police as of press time, but we can’t help but ask ourselves how many of those children could have left the bus unscathed or with less severe injuries if seat belts were mandatory in school buses?
This issue seems to come to the forefront every time children are involved in a bus crash but I think it is worth considering again.
If it is illegal for any resident to drive a child in their personal vehicle without a seat belt, why is it OK when up to 70 school-aged children are in a large vehicle together?
According to Audrey Bloxham, director of transportation for Rocky View Schools, seat belts are not required and, in fact, are not recommended by Transport Canada.
According to Transport Canada, there are approximately 40 safety standards to the design and construction of school buses made in and imported into Canada.
These include specialized brake systems, lighting, emergency exits, escape hatches in the roof, and high padded seatbacks that cushion the impact of a crash.
The Canadian Safety Council website says seat belts in buses would actually do more harm than good.
“Research has shown that lap belts could actually increase the risk of head injuries in a head-on collision (the most common type of bus collision). By holding the child’s pelvis firmly in place, the torso would whip forward; with the head striking the back of the seat in front of them with greater force than if the whole body had hit the seat.”
I am not a parent, a bus driver or a school bus safety expert, however, as a reporter I have taken part in a seat belt simulator and it opened my eyes. The simulator is a car seat on a track system with a slight incline. A person is strapped into the seat, the seat travels up the incline on the track and then the operator drops the seat at a speed of 12 km/hr.
The impact when you hit the bottom of the machine is jarring and when the demonstration is done with a dummy that is not strapped in, seeing it fly through the air is shocking.
My position as a reporter has also (unfortunately) given me the opportunity to speak with a number of EMS and RCMP officials about the aftermath of accidents when the driver or passengers were not wearing a seat belt. The results are truly horrifying.
If it were me on that bus, I would take my chances with a bit of whiplash rather than risk bouncing around the bus in the event of a crash.
I understand and readily admit the simulator I used was designed to show the effects in a passenger vehicle and not a school bus, however, I wonder if designing the vehicle with safety measures so seat belts aren’t required is favoured for school buses, why don’t car manufacturers do the same?
Maybe you are thinking (like I was) why not just add seat belts to these school buses that are already equipped with other safety measures that way kids will be extra safe, apparently that is not an option.
According to Bloxham, existing school bus seating arrangements are not designed for the retrofitting of seat belts.
Most parents do everything in their power to keep their children safe, whether they are going for a ride in the car, crossing the street or playing outside, but when children are of school age, mom and dad are forced to leave their children in the hands of others. Shouldn’t we do everything in our power to protect them?
Again, I reiterate I am not an expert on the subject, however, it seems clear that seat belts add to the safety of our children and I think it is worth looking into again.
