GREENSBORO, N.C. — Whenever there's a bus crash like the one in Alamance County on Thursday, viewers ask 2 Wants To Know: why do most school buses not have seat belts?
To be clear, we are still working to determine if the ABSS bus had seat belts, but the chances are very low. Belts are not required on large school buses in North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction explains:
"School buses have to meet rigid federal construction standards for the sides and top of the bus, fuel tanks, and inside of each bus. The thick padded seats and seat-backs provide a passive form of crash protection. This padding, combined with the placement of the seating area high above the impact zone, offers a protection that has resulted in an unmatched record of passenger safety. " … “Especially for small students, lap belts can be more harmful than helpful.”
There's also the cost. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it's unsafe to add belts to old buses. So you'd have to get all new buses with an extra cost of more than $10,000 per bus.
The State has tried out seat belts before. After a Cumberland County bus rolled over, the district was part of a pilot project. One of the biggest benefits was better behavior by students who were belted into their seats. Other than that benefit, study after study has found seat belts only provide a marginal improvement in protecting students on buses.
The bottom line here: with or without seat belts, statistics show school buses are the safest way for kids to get to class. Buses are safer than walking and riding in a car.