The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services reiterated its support of the use of lap/shoulder seatbelts for the safety of student passengers by calling for the occupant restraints in all new school buses.

NASDPTS, the first industry association to openly support the use of the safety restraints on school buses, evolved its stance from first recommending the equipment in 2008 to requiring enforceable use in 2014.

In May 2020, NASDPTS consolidated that record into policy. It supported requiring the installation and use of lap/shoulder belts in all new school buses, accompanied by student training, evacuation drills that include unbuckling, trip safety briefings and enforcement. The paper emphasized that lap/shoulder belts supplement compartmentalization, which National Transportation Safety Board investigations have concluded provides limited protection in rollovers, side impacts and secondary collisions. It also cited NHTSA’s estimate that universal installation and proper use on large buses could prevent 1,898 injuries and 2.13 fatalities annually. At the time, NASDPTS considered retrofitting seatbelts on legacy school buses to be a local decision dependent upon technical, legal and compatibility reviews.

The update announced Monday states that “lap/shoulder belts provide the safest form of occupant protection inside a school bus.” NASDPTS recommends installing and using the belts in all new school buses. Additionally, states and local jurisdictions are encouraged to establish enforcement policies and procedures, NASDPTS adds, noting that all students must use the belts and must be trained on how to use them properly.

Training, NASDPTS noted, must include proper use and adjustment of passengers. All students transported via a school bus must participate in regular evacuation drills, including unbuckling exercisers.

“Prior to every field or activity trip, the school bus driver or other designated personnel must provide a safety briefing to all students and adult passengers that includes the required use of the belts, the location and use of the exists and the location of the emergency equipment,” NASDPTS states. “Jurisdictions must adopt and implement related policies, notices, training and appropriate enforcement.”

NASDPTS also clarified that school bus drivers are only expected to make reasonable efforts to enforce seatbelt usage.

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The position adds that retrofitting existing school buses with lap/shoulder seatbelts should only be considered after consultation with the original equipment manufacturer for that specific school bus. The state director’s association adds that retrofits could be considered unsafe, “as not all buses are built to specifications needed to support seatbelts. In addition, any change to a school bus could be in violation of the manufacturer warranty.”

“NASDPTS fully supports required installation and use of lap/shoulder belts in new school buses,” the paper concluded. “When school buses are equipped with lap/shoulder belts, a mandatory usage policy must also be in place, along with necessary training of employees and students on the importance of wearing and using the belts properly. Training and procedures must include effective evacuation training and drills.”

The association recommends that state directors and industry leaders should work together to ensure that legislators and other state policy makers “are educated on the existing safety record of school buses. Their discussions should emphasize the added safety benefits provided by lap/shoulder belts and the need to ensure that funding levels and service requirements support the availability of school buses to serve parents’ and students’ needs.”

NASDPTS also commented on commonly cited reasons from seatbelt opponents why school buses should only rely on compartmentalization to protect passengers. The paper states that modern seat and belts designs now largely maintain bus ridership capacity and minimize the risk of the belts being used by students as weapons. Additionally, NASDTS said buckles are designed for easy release to aide in fast evacuation in the case of an emergency.

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The topic of seatbelts on school buses is much-debated safety topic around the industry. Ron Kinney, a retired state director of school transportation for the California Department of Education and school bus contractor government relations executive, looks to breakdown the real-life data on how seatbelts, specifically the lap/shoulder variety, affect safety.

The breakout session “School Bus Lap/Shoulder Belts, California’s 20 Year Journey” will be held July 13 during the STN EXPO West conference in Reno, Nevada. During the session, Kinney will present the data of California’s school bus crash and passenger injuries beginning with  the 2004-2005 school year through 2024. He will analyze this data in light of the incremental appearance of lap/shoulder seatbelts on new California school buses, starting in 2004, when they became the first state in the nation to require them on all new school buses.

Kinney recently compiled an even more comprehensive look spanning not only the 20 years of seatbelt usage but the 10 years prior using the annual California Highway Patrol’s annual “School Bus Crash and Pupil Passenger Injury Summary Report.” He will discuss some of the federal updates that stemmed from California state laws, including the 2002 state law that requires all newly purchased school buses after July 1, 2025 be equipped with lap/shoulder seatbelts, which led to current FMVSS 222 requirements for lap/shoulder seatbelts in all Type A school buses nationwide.

Attendees will receive a detailed breakdown of how lap/shoulder seatbelts impact the overall safety of student riders and how they correlate to the number of injuries in student transportation. This informative session features a data-based discussion around seatbelts that will help inform conference attendees on this important safety tool.

Kinney Brings Wealth of Industry Experience to Impact Conversation

Kinney’s career in student transportation spans 58 years, starting when he became a part-time school bus driver in 1968. After later serving as a mechanic and student transportation manager at the school district level, he joined the California Department of Education, first as an instructor for school bus driver trainers and later as the state director of school transportation.

He later became director of marketing and business development for Laidlaw Education Services then the school bus contractor’s director of government relations. He served in the same role for First Group America.

Kinney currently serves as a pupil transportation consultant and vice president of the board of directors for the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute a non-profit school transportation safety training organization located in New York. He is also an active member of National Association for Pupil Transportation, National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, where he co-authored Emergency and Rescue Procedure Guidelines for the organization, as well as serving on the steering committee for National Congress on School Transportation .

The Early Bird Deadline ends on June 5, register now to save $100 on main conference registration. STN EXPO West will be held July 9-15 at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. The conference will feature hands-on training classes, educational sessions, a dynamic keynote presentation, and networking opportunities. Register now at stnexpo.com/west.

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