Federal legislation seeking to require lap/shoulder seatbelts on school buses as well as stability control systems and automatic braking is before Congress for the fifth time since 2018.

Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, who co-introduced each previous House Democrat iteration as companion bills to efforts led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, reintroduced the School Bus Safety Act on Tuesday in the House. The legislation would implement recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) require three-point seatbelts in all school buses.

To date, NHTSA has only required lap/shoulder seatbelts in school buses that weigh 10,000 pounds or less. Meanwhile, it recommends the occupant restraint systems but only when a school district can afford to purchase and install them.

“There is no more precious cargo than school-aged children entrusted by their parents for a ride to school. The commonsense measures recommended by the NTSB and called for in this legislation will save young lives,” Cohen said in a statement. “We’ve seen too many deaths and serious injuries in school bus accidents in Tennessee and elsewhere, and it is past time we act to save young lives.”

Blue Bird became the first school bus manufacturer to voluntarily equip all its school buses with lap/shoulder seatbelts and at no additional cost, unless a school district customer specifies it does not want the systems.

NTSB applauded the School Bus Safety Act reintroduction.

“School buses are often touted as the safest vehicles on our roads, and yet the NTSB continues to investigate crashes that result in preventable fatalities and injuries involving children, adults who accompany them, and other road users,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. “Every school bus crash serves as a painful reminder of the cost of inaction. … The NTSB will not rest until the number of lives lost to school bus tragedies is zero.”

In addition to seatbelts, the bill would require automatic emergency braking, electronic stability controls, event data recorders, firewalls separating the engine compartment from the passenger compartment, and fire suppression systems for engine fires.

Duckworth was joined by Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio in reintroducing the bill in the Senate last September. It has remained in the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

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