An elementary student was killed and 23 other students were injured – including one with life-threatening injuries – after their school bus was hit by a minivan and overturned on the first day of school.
The accident occurred on state Route 41 in German Township, Ohio, on Tuesday morning, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said in a news release.
Buses are not required to have seatbelts because they have a far greater mass than a car, making it harder to, you know, fling people out of a window/into the seat in front of them when a crash occurs, which is what seatbelts are designed to prevent. Oh, and you really think a single bus driver can make 20-30 kids keep their seatbelts on during the ride to school? This is mission control, please come back to Earth.
You’re arguing that it’s better not to have seatbelts because the driver can’t guarantee that 100% of the students will buckle up? That’s hilarious.
Semis have a greater mass than a bus, yet the driver and passenger both have seat belts. Other countries put seat belts on their busses. I’d love to see some data backing up your argument.
People like making up reasons and presenting it as fact on the internet lol, but actually working in a school, here are the real main reasons. Busses are compartmentalized and busses have padding everywhere on the seats and they’re densely packed so it’s usually safe enough without belts if kids get flung around. They also typically drive slower than cars and no seatbelts make evacuations easier and faster for students. They are also very heavy. I’ve been in a bus that’s been hit before and it was like someone just slightly shook the bus while the car’s headlight was busted. The paperwork being done took longer than taking us home. The last reason is probably the most believable, but it’s to cut costs, too. Busses with belts can range $8-15k more expensive and school faculty members are underpaid enough already.
Yet, the driver has a seatbelt. Greater mass means a greater kinetic momentum. Lol, the irony of your username.
The driver has a seatbelt because they are not sandwiched between seats explicitly designed to absorb energy and reduce injury. They have a steering column, dashboard, and windshield in front of them. There is no irony in their username, just ignorance on your part for speaking about a topic you know nothing about.
The seatbelt isn’t there just to keep you from flying through the windshield in a crash. It also keeps you in the proper seating position so you can reach the controls at all times, and reduces fatigue because you don’t need to brace yourself as much when going around corners or over bumps.
