01031498

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School buses offer protection to passengers through the construction of the vehicle, including the creation of a compartment formed by the padded seats. This concept of compartmentalization has contributed to the outstanding safety record of school bus transportation. Despite evidence that indicates the lap belts can be more harmful than helpful to student passengers in the event of a crash, three states have legislation requiring safety belts (which has equated to lap belts). A fourth state requires lap/shoulder belts on large school buses. NHTSA crashworthiness testing reported in 2002 stated that there could be a safety benefit to the use of lap shoulder belts in large school buses, if the are worn properly. More importantly, there does not appear to be a danger to students resulting from (properly) wearing lap-shoulder belts. In order to gather real-world operational experience to gauge the effectiveness of this new technology, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction replace thirteen school buses in eleven county school districts with buses fully equipped with lap-shoulder belts. While there was a good deal of positive feedback from parents to support the implementation of lap/shoulder belt technology, a very important result focused on the capacity issues created by the definition of seating space. In order to preserve as much seating capacity as possible, the buses were equipped with 45 inch seats on one side of the aisle and 30 inch seats on the other side of the aisle, yielding a total of 5 seating positions on each row. This is a capacity reduction of 1/6 for elementary students. The anticipated 25% increase in high school capacity never materialized as the configuration did not allow for enough seating space for high school students. An unintended component of the study was feedback on "high back seats." The lap/shoulder belt seats were 4 inches higher than the standard North Carolina school bus seat. This caught the drivers by surprise. The decrease in discipline problems resulting from using the lap/shoulder belt seats was also a function of the higher seat backs. On-site evaluation of the implementation of this seat configuration confirmed some of the issues described above, but also validated the need for additional, extensive training if students are to be expected to wear the lap/shoulder belts properly. It was common to see usage rates of 75% and more on some elementary routes, but not on high school routes. The extent of non-use impacts the benefits of the technology, which assumes that all students are properly wearing the belts. The increased cost of the school bus and the danger to students that get to school using means other than a school bus further complicate the picture so that the decision on whether to begin using lap/shoulder belts on school buses will likely remain at the school district level for some time.

01020180

06-1925

English

15p

2006

Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting

CD-ROM

Figures (2) ; Photos (2) ; References (8) ; Tables (1)

Bus drivers; Elementary school students; High school students; Occupant protection devices; Person capacity; Safety; School buses; Seat backs; Seat belts; Training

Education and Training; Highways; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2006 Paper #06-1925

BTRIS, TRIS, TRB

Mar 3 2006 10:49AM