(Warning:Graphic Photos) Let's talk about School Busses and Seatbelts

hrice · Sep 11, 2012

Dustin was injured pretty badly yesterday when the school bus hit a speed hump in our neighorhood. He was out of position as he and his friends were doing a little hop as they rode over the humps.

He ended up with a pretty severe gash that went through his Galea (muscle that covers the skull). He had stitches to repair the Galea and then 7 staples. There was no concussion, etc so we were lucky.

Pictures:

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All sealed up:

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So, I am wondering about seatbelts on buses or, rather, the lack of. Is it safer without? This was a rather minor inceident. I can only imagine what could have happened if this was a trueollision. I am relatively ignarant on the whole compartmentalization thing. Let's discuss.

robbertbobbert · Sep 11, 2012

I don't know enough to discuss the compartmentalization thing... but I couldn't not comment on this.

OH MY GOD IS THAT ALL BLOOD ON YOUR SON'S SHIRT!?

I'm sorry, that's just so totally shocking. I hope he's feeling okay.

hrice · Sep 11, 2012

robbertbobbert said:
I don't know enough to discuss the compartmentalization thing... but I couldn't not comment on this.

OH MY GOD IS THAT ALL BLOOD ON YOUR SON'S SHIRT!?

I'm sorry, that's just so totally shocking. I hope he's feeling okay.

Yes. All blood. It was ALLOT of blood.

mar22 · Sep 11, 2012

Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry for your son. I hope he will be OK soon. Poor thing

He's in my prayers <3

Lemonade · Sep 11, 2012

Wow. Just, wow. Were any of the other children hurt? What was it that caused the gash (as in, what part of the bus)? So I assume his bus either doesn't have seat belts or it does but no one uses them?

I'm so sorry and I hope he's doing alright and that this somehow has something good come out of it. I am a wus with blood so in addition to how bad this is to start out with, I would have been completely grossed out and woozy. As a mom, I am totally terrified of something like this happening to one of my kids. Hugs to you and your DS!

NicoleCPST · Sep 11, 2012

What did he actually hit his head on? Did they say if he had a concussion?

Head injuries do bleed a lot! I needed a staples in my head several yrs ago and it looked that bad, if not worse.

rachelandtyke · Sep 11, 2012

Glad he's (relatively) OK!

At first glance I thought he had a tye-dyed shirt, then I realized it was blood! Head wounds are known to bleed a lot, but I've never seen one in person.

hrice · Sep 11, 2012

Lemonade said:
Wow. Just, wow. Were any of the other children hurt? What was it that caused the gash (as in, what part of the bus)? So I assume his bus either doesn't have seat belts or it does but no one uses them?

I'm so sorry and I hope he's doing alright and that this somehow has something good come out of it. I am a wus with blood so in addition to how bad this is to start out with, I would have been completely grossed out and woozy. As a mom, I am totally terrified of something like this happening to one of my kids. Hugs to you and your DS!

NicoleCPST said:
What did he actually hit his head on? Did they say if he had a concussion?

Head injuries do bleed a lot! I needed a staples in my head several yrs ago and it looked that bad, if not worse.

He hit it on the ceiling.

Not sure where. He was in the very back seat. No seat belts on the bus. Luckily no concussion. No other kids were injured. Only a few were on the bus at the time.

NannyMom · Sep 11, 2012

Was he standing on the seat? I just cant see how else he could hit his head on the ceiling. Wow, just wow. I hope he's feeling better today. Did the driver know he was injured?

School buses are designed so that the walls are thicker, it sits higher (so cars go under), and the seats are designed expecting the child to hit the back of the seat in front of them. As long as the child is seated properly, buses are safe. They are also a nice yellow so they are more visible, making car less likely to crash into them. But really, how many kids sit properly on the bus?

I do wonder if no belts is safer than the lap belts. I do know 1 bus driver that was concerned about unbuckling everyone in an emergency

bnsnyde · Sep 11, 2012

OMG! Didn't you post a while back about being nervous that one of your kids had a bus trip on the highway. Everybody seemed to say let him go it's fine. So I felt silly being nervous about buses.

But now I am very nervous again!
I know they'll take the bus to school, but when it's a field trip downtown to Chicago, I don't want to do it! Am I nuts? The schools around here do this a lot.

(And since kids don't sit properly on buses I take all the promised safety with caution). I took the bus my whole life, usually half-hanging off the seat because we had to do 3 in a row. In an accident there was no seatback for me to hit. I know my daughter sits fine though, because she's in a STARS seat. But after preschool, it's just the regular seat.

hrice · Sep 11, 2012

NannyMom said:
Was he standing on the seat?

But really, how many kids sit properly on the bus?

I do wonder if no belts is safer than the lap belts. I do know 1 bus driver that was concerned about unbuckling everyone in an emergency

He was not standing on the seat. According to him, he was leaning forward with his hands on top of the seat in front of him. When they hit the hump he did a little hop. The bus driver admitted to taking the hump too fast. I too, am confused as to how he hit the ceiling. Maybe he hit something else and thought it was the ceiling. The bus driver did not see it so I can only go by what Dustin tells me.

And that is exactly my question. Would it be better to wear a seatbelt? Children riding buses are old enough to unbuckle so I don't see that as a problem. If they are unconcious, etc then they would require assistance anyway, right?

hrice · Sep 11, 2012

bnsnyde said:
OMG! Didn't you post a while back about being nervous that one of your kids had a bus trip on the highway. Everybody seemed to say let him go it's fine. So I felt silly being nervous about buses.

But now I am very nervous again!
I know they'll take the bus to school, but when it's a field trip downtown to Chicago, I don't want to do it! Am I nuts? The schools around here do this a lot.

That was me. This incident definitely has me questioning that decision.

bnsnyde · Sep 11, 2012

This just happened a few days ago, some kids were killed in a school bus accident. It kind of ties into the discussion. I'm not clear if the deaths were from the collision or the vehicle bursting into flames? Again...balancing the need of belts with evacuation, etc.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...braska-bus-collides-with-tractor-trailer?lite

smackeen · Sep 11, 2012

Oh wow! How scary for both of you!!

I am wondering if he maybe hit his head on the window edge possibly when he went up and just thought he hit the ceiling?

Kat_Momof3 · Sep 11, 2012

obviously compartmentalization can only work if the kids stay in position.

What it sounds like to me from what you wrote about how he was positioned and what hit his head is that he was leaning forward and hands on the top of the seat... doing a hop would elevate him up... and we've seen what unrestrained kids in a vehicle do in a crash... they fly up... the bus seats are designed to be really tall so that they will keep the kids from flying over... but when he's already higher than the seat, it can't do that. I'm guessing the hump bounced him high enough that he caught the ceiling. It's easier to do that in the back portion of the bus than the front... and especially around the emergency exit that is in the ceiling.

I do think in this case that seatbelts would have helped... but a combination of him staying in position and the driver not going too fast would have been enough to prevent it. I would use the opportunity to talk to your son about bus safety... I'd even call the bus company and the school about having someone come and talk to the whole school about it and use your son's accident as an example of why we have to be so careful about sitting properly. I'd also want the bus company to use it to show their drivers why they have to take humps slowly... same as why they have to come to a complete stop before railroad tracks... a bus just gives way more bounce than a regular vehicle because of how long it is when it goes over something like that.

My kids sit properly on the bus... I've ground it into them that badly... Ruthie on the special needs bus did ride in a seat with an adjustable seatbelt until she could be trusted to do so in one of the seats without it. Our schools' busses also have bus monitors on all of them and they seem to be supervised much better. Not to say all kids are going to be perfectly in place, but it certainly helps up the odds.

jacqui276 · Sep 11, 2012

Wow that is quite the gash. Head injuries bleed a lot, but that would be scary none-the-less.

We had a fatal school bus crash here a few years ago (a 9yr old girl died and others were injured). Who knows if seat belts would have made any difference.

Other than evacuation taking longer, are there any risks associated with seat belts on buses?

thtr4me · Sep 11, 2012

Wow, that is really scary! Almost makes me want to drive DS in a car for any field trips this year. I know how wild he gets around his friends and cannot imagine him staying in proper position on a bus

.

hrice · Sep 11, 2012

Kat_Momof3 said:
obviously compartmentalization can only work if the kids stay in position.

What it sounds like to me from what you wrote about how he was positioned and what hit his head is that he was leaning forward and hands on the top of the seat... doing a hop would elevate him up... and we've seen what unrestrained kids in a vehicle do in a crash... they fly up... the bus seats are designed to be really tall so that they will keep the kids from flying over... but when he's already higher than the seat, it can't do that. I'm guessing the hump bounced him high enough that he caught the ceiling. It's easier to do that in the back portion of the bus than the front... and especially around the emergency exit that is in the ceiling.

I do think in this case that seatbelts would have helped... but a combination of him staying in position and the driver not going too fast would have been enough to prevent it. I would use the opportunity to talk to your son about bus safety... I'd even call the bus company and the school about having someone come and talk to the whole school about it and use your son's accident as an example of why we have to be so careful about sitting properly. I'd also want the bus company to use it to show their drivers why they have to take humps slowly... same as why they have to come to a complete stop before railroad tracks... a bus just gives way more bounce than a regular vehicle because of how long it is when it goes over something like that.

My kids sit properly on the bus... I've ground it into them that badly... Ruthie on the special needs bus did ride in a seat with an adjustable seatbelt until she could be trusted to do so in one of the seats without it. Our schools' busses also have bus monitors on all of them and they seem to be supervised much better. Not to say all kids are going to be perfectly in place, but it certainly helps up the odds.

I understand that compartmentalization only works if kids are sitting properly and frequently remind him of this. He chose to do what his friends were doing instead. Yesterday was treated as a learning opportunity and he certainly understands how inportant it is now.

I contacted the transportation department and the school yesterday. I am waiting to hear back from the head person and will schedule a meeting with the school principal as well. I like the idea of using this as an example for other students. I will discuss that with the principal.

Brianna · Sep 11, 2012

If he was in the very back seat, it's possible he hit his head on whatever was right behind it. I'm glad he's mostly okay and I really hope his friends, classmates and brothers learn how important it is to stay in position.

I used to turn around and sit on the ground and use the seat as a desk. I can only imagine the things that could have happened to me...

4boysmom · Sep 11, 2012

The driver hit the bump going too fast period. That right there makes it clear to me what the first part of the equation was. Then kiddo already hopping up at what essentially was the time of impact and I can see him getting hurt. Hitting the ceiling not really, not unless he was frog hopping off the seat itself, and if so yeah I can see that happening theoretically.

(Warning:Graphic Photos) Let's talk about School Busses and Seatbelts

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