Secretary Peters Catches Bus to School, Proposes New Safety Rules for School Buses

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today buckled up and rode with children in a school bus toMorrisville Elementary School near Raleigh, where she announced a new federal proposal to make school buses safer by requiring higher seat backs and setting new seat belt standards for the nation’s 474,000 school buses.

“Our proposed rule would make children safer, put parents at ease and give communities a clearer picture of how to protect students,” Secretary Peters said. “It’s never too late to learn, especially when it comes to protecting our children.”

Beginning one year after the rule goes into effect, all new school buses would be equipped with 24-inch seat backs. This increase, up from the current 20 inches, will better protect child passengers by helping keep older kids and adults from being thrown over seats in a crash, hurting themselves and others, Secretary Peters said.

“Even the smallest changes can make a big difference,” said Administrator Nicole Nason of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “The higher seat backs will help provide children with even greater protection in the event of a crash.”

The proposal also requires all new small buses, which are more prone to roll-over than full-size buses, to be equipped with three-point belts within three years of the new rule taking effect, replacing the current lap-belts-only requirement, Secretary Peters said.

For large buses, the proposed rule for the first time would provide federal standards for seat belts for school districts that make the decision to add them. The Secretary said the federal government would allow school districts to use federal highway safety funds to cover the additional cost of equipping buses with seat belts to encourage greater use.