School Bus Seat Belts Debated

By Michael Davis, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

Jan. 7–EDITOR’S NOTE: To hear audio of a roundtable discussion with area legislators, visit www.timesfreepress.com.

Legislation to put seat belts on school buses has the support of some state lawmakers eager to secure student safety, but issues of cost, liability and effectiveness have others skeptical such a proposal would pass.

Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, said seat belts on school buses are a “hot topic” worth discussing as lawmakers prepare to convene this week in Nashville.

“Anytime that you throw out a bill that has a possibility to save one child’s life, no matter what the cost, no matter what the implications are of other bills that could save more people’s lives, you’re going to have passionate debate,” Rep. Dean said.

In a wide-ranging meeting with area state legislators at the Chattanooga Times Free Press last week, health care, illegal immigration and tweaks to the state’s school funding formula all emerged as priorities for lawmakers this year.

When prompted to identify other issues that could surface in the new session, area senators and representatives quickly pointed to school bus seat belts — a contentious policy issue that gained renewed attention in the wake of a deadly Huntsville, Ala., accident in November.

Rep.-elect Richard Floyd agreed that debating such safety devices is important, but he questioned how to pay for them.

“Who’s going to step to the plate and tell us how we’re going to fund it?” he said.

Rep. Tommie Brown, DChattanooga, said school systems previously have opposed seat belt proposals because of costs.

That’s just one reason the Tennessee School Boards Association resists such legislation, said Stephen Smith, the group’s director of government relations.

“We haven’t seen any conclusive studies to show that placing seat belts on school buses would improve safety,” Mr. Smith said. Advocacy groups on both sides of the debate and other organizations dispute the effectiveness of school bus seat belts. In 1999, the National Transportation Safety Board, then led by Signal Mountain attorney Jim Hall, was unable to conclude if restraint devices would reduce injury.

California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey and New York are the only states with laws related to safety belts on school buses, said Dr. Alan Ross with the National Coalition for School Bus Safety.

Although safety is a prevailing issue in this policy debate, lawmakers cited other concerns during last week’s roundtable.

Rep.-elect Mike Bell, R-Riceville, said seat belts can lower student capacity on school buses, which means school systems might have to buy and maintain more buses.

And Sen.-elect Dewayne Bunch, R-Cleveland, said restraining devices could burden local school officials by raising a number of liability and insurance issues.

“Who’s going to drive a bus if I’ve got to make sure 66 kids are buckled down?” he said.

Rep. Ben West Jr., D-Hermitage, said Friday he intends to reintroduce a bill that gradually would phase seat belts into Tennessee school buses. The vehicles have to be replaced every so often anyway, the Middle Tennessee legislator said, so seat belts could be introduced over time without a severe fiscal burden.

Rep. West said in the previous legislative session, some lawmakers opposed his bill, citing expense and the concern that seat belts actually could be more harmful to students.

Rep. West acknowledged that getting a bill passed can take years, with the legislation often coming out of the process full of amendments.

“It’s like any other bill up there,” he said. “It could start out looking like a horse and end up looking like a cow.”

The Tennessee Department of Education does not propose legislation but would enforce seat belt policy if approved by the state General Assembly, spokeswoman Rachel Woods said.

Hamilton County Schools started the bid process for a school bus contractor last week. Deputy Superintendent Rick Smith said seat belts were not included in the bid request.

“Until we get legislation, it’s probably something that is premature for us to actually put in this proposal,” he said.

E-mail Michael Davis at michaeld@timesfreepress.com

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Copyright (c) 2007, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

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