Many people believe that school buses are already effectively safe. School bus drivers and …show more content…
Nothing is perfectly safe. Accidents happen, and people are still injured and killed, even when the upmost safety precautions are taken. Safety specialists have stated that “compartmentalization” is the most effective method in protecting school bus passengers (“Seat Belts, School”). School bus seats were designed to act as cheap and effective safety system. Parents are expected to trust that a compartment bus seat is the only protection their child needs in the case of an accident. Parents want a guarantee that their child will be safe. Compartmentalization is the protection provided by the closely-spaced seats that are designed to absorb “crash energy” in an accident: “compartmentalization is a passive protection for unbelted passengers” (“Seat Belts, School”; O’Neil). Compartmentalization is not sufficient enough to protect children from the varieties of bus accidents. Parents are supposed to believe that their child is safe in a simple high-back bus seat. These seats are effective for minor crashes, but not sufficient in the case of a major accident. For compartmentalization to be effective, passengers must be in the seat, or compartment; compartmentalization only guarantees safety in a low-speed, frontal collision …show more content…
A school bus might be considered safer because it is larger, but they are not perfectly safe. Why would anyone settle for well enough? Seat belts must have an effect of safety because "seat belts have been required in passenger cars since 1968" ("Seat Belts on"). All cars are equipped with seat belts, and it is a law in all but one state to wear a seat belt. Seat belts laws are determined at a state level, so there is a diversity in laws among states. There is also a difference in the requirement of seat belts that depends on the type of vehicle. Laws have been passed in 49 states as well as Washington DC that require seat belts be worn in passenger vehicles and light trucks ("Seat Belts on"). The 49 states that require seatbelts do not necessarily have similar laws. There is a difference in the enforcement of the law along with the difference in the severity of reprimands for the infringement of the law. In Indiana for example, all passengers must be wearing a seat belt is the vehicle is in motion (Department of Motor Vehicles). There are two types of seatbelt laws that a state can enforce. A state can have a primary seat belt law or secondary seat belt law. Most states have implemented a primary seat belt law. A primary seat belt law states that drivers can be pulled over and ticketed solely on the basis a police officer observes that they are not wearing