[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 86 (Thursday, June 19, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1272-E1273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE SCHOOL BUS SAFETY ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR.

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 1997

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, since 1985, 1,478 people have died in 
school bus-related crashes--an average of 134 fatalities per year. 
Although school bus related travel is the safest mode of transportation 
on America's roads today, more can, and should, be done to ensure the 
safety of this country's most cherished resources--our children. That 
is why I have introduced legislation that improves on existing 
technologies and maximizes safety for the 24 million children who ride 
buses to and from school each day.
  My bill directs the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to set 
national proficiency standards for school bus drivers. It directs the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop guidelines on 
the safe transportation in school buses of children under the age of 
five. It also applies Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to 
interstate school bus operations. The bill also requires: a decrease in 
the flammability of materials used in the construction of the interiors 
of school buses; the establishment of construction, design, and 
securement standards for wheelchairs used in the transportation of 
students in school buses; and that buses be equipped with bumper 
sensors, wheel guards

[[Page E1273]]

and a system that detects a trapped obstacle in the door of the 
vehicle. The legislation requires the establishment of a national 
criminal history background check system to enable local education 
agencies, or contractors, to check the criminal background of any 
person applying for employment as a bus driver. It requires the 
Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Science to 
conduct a study of the safety issues attendant to transportation of 
school children to and from school and school-related activities by 
various transportation modes, including public transit vehicles. And 
finally, my bill establishes a pilot program for one school district in 
the country to assess the benefits of equipping school buses with 
shoulder harness mechanisms, similar to the equipment used by flight 
attendants on passenger aircraft.
  My bill makes modest common sense reforms to ensure that the children 
who ride our school buses each day have the safest mode of 
transportation possible. I urge my colleagues to support this important 
piece of legislation.

                          ____________________