West Brook Bus Crash Families
Texas Chapter of National Coalition For School Bus Safety
SafeBuses4Kids
HERE IS WHAT WE DID NOT KNOW BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, BUT LEARNED THE HARD WAY:
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Buses that transport our children - both school buses and charters (motor coaches) - will not protect them if an accident occurs.
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Chartered motor coaches do not meet crashworthiness standards required for school buses. They do not meet roof, structural frame or "compartmentalization" seat standards mandated for school buses. They have no size, frame or "glazing" standards for impact resistant windows, making them especially dangerous for ejection injury and deaths in rollover accidents. Charter bus companies target the school district market, but do not tell parents their buses lack these protections.
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Lap- shoulder “3-point” seatbelts save lives and reduce injuries and deaths in accidents, yet school buses and motor coaches are not equipped with seatbelts.
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School buses still rely on a 30-year old seat standard called “compartmentalization.” It is outdated for today's traffic environment and does not protect students in frontal crashes above minimum speeds, side impacts or rollovers.
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The technology to install lap-shoulder seatbelts in new school buses is available today at a reasonable, affordable price. This new seat technology, available since 2002, restrains students wearing seatbelts, while not eliminating the protection compartmentalization may afford a student not buckled.
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The technology for lap-shoulder seatbelts installed in motor coaches is currently available overseas but American bus operators do not choose to buy the technology to save money and maximize profit.
Parents are the Key to Solving This Critical Safety Gap! Our group worked with our local school district in its decision to equip all new buses purchased by the district with lap-shoulder seatbelts and reduce the use of motor coaches. Legislation is pending before the 2007 Texas Legislature and needs your help.
Parents are the Key to Solving This Critical Safety Gap! Our group worked with our local school district in its decision to equip all new buses purchased by the district with lap-shoulder seatbelts and reduce the use of motor coaches. Legislation is pending before the 2007 Texas Legislature and needs your help.
