[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 11, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SECURE ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 2005

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, today, following two school bus crashes that 
resulted in multiple injuries and fatalities in the last month, I 
reintroduced the SECURE Act of 2005, which requires all school buses to 
have safety belts.
  Just yesterday, 23 children were injured in a bus crash in Missouri. 
Video from another accident in 2003 in Ohio shows 30 children literally 
falling out of their seats and being thrown against the other side of 
the bus. How can we say that our school buses are safe? We cannot wait 
for another tragedy to occur. It is time for Congress to take action.
  Since we were old enough to ride in cars, we were taught to buckle 
our safety belts. We have taught our children these basic safety 
lessons to potentially save their lives during collisions. Yet, one of 
the most frequent forms of transportation used by school-aged children 
is not equipped with any life-saving safety belts. How can we not give 
our children the safest possible ride by assuring that all school buses 
are equipped with safety belts?
  Currently, only six states require safety belts on school buses, 
including California, which was the first state to require three-point 
safety belts. The remaining states use the ``compartmentalization'' 
method to secure the safety of the occupant. This method assures a 
reasonable level of safety in frontal crashes; however, a 1999 report 
by the National Transportation Safety Board found that 
compartmentalization does not adequately protect passengers from 
lateral impact and rollover crashes because passengers do not always 
remain completely in their seats. Also, the national Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration concluded that there is less trauma to the head 
and neck of passengers wearing 3-point safety belts.
  Many people argue that the cost of installing safety belts on school 
buses is too high, when in fact it is only about $1.80 per child. That 
is a minimal cost to pay to protect a child's life.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in cosponsoring this 
legislation. We should not offer our children anything less than the 
safest ride to school each day.

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