[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SEATBELTS FOR INCREASED BUS SAFETY

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 2009

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, most of us are aware of the bus 
accidents that have been occurring around the country. Two years ago 
there was a fatal bus accident involving the Westbrook High School 
girls' soccer team in Beaumont, Texas. Just this year, there was an 
accident in Sherman, Texas, which involved several Vietnamese community 
members. Similar incidents occurred in Liberty, Missouri, Arlington, 
Virginia, New York City, and New Orleans, to name a few.
  These tragic bus accidents demonstrate that school bus safety reform 
is an urgent issue. While school buses are among the safest mode of 
transportation, these re-occurring accidents are unacceptable. School 
buses need to be safer.
  The widespread bus crashes have sparked a comeback in the idea of 
seatbelts in buses. Seatbelts raise the issue of whether they would 
increase bus safety.
  According to the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas safety 
belt use has topped 90%, this being the third year in a row. The 
majority of people in Texas are wearing their seatbelts in cars and 
trucks. But few to no passengers are wearing their seatbelts in school 
buses! Currently, there is no federal mandate on seatbelts in buses.
  Every state, except New Hampshire, requires by law that car and truck 
drivers and passengers wear seatbelts. This is because seatbelts work--
they increase a passenger's chance of survival in a crash. In short, 
seatbelts save lives.
  If laws require passengers of cars and trucks to wear seatbelts, why 
are there no requirements for buses to even include seatbelts? In many 
states there are variations of ``Click it or Ticket'' policies that 
threaten motorists who don't wear seatbelts, yet no such laws apply to 
the buses that carry our children and community members on a daily 
basis.
  Certainly, buses are made very different from cars and trucks. For 
one, buses can carry many more passengers than any car. Some of these 
differences might lead one to believe that there should not be a 
mandate on seatbelts in buses. These differences have not stopped bus 
drivers from being required to wear seatbelts. So why not for school 
bus passengers as well?
  Some claim that seatbelts may not be properly worn by passengers or 
cause injury. If anything, it shows that seatbelts should be made 
better. However, to completely disregard seatbelts as a safety 
precaution is absurd.
  The answer appears to be that of common sense. While seatbelts are in 
no way a quick fix and there are many questions surrounding seatbelts 
in buses, they should be looked into as one of the very many necessary 
measures taken to ensure school bus safety.

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