School bus vs gasoline tanker (no fatalities)

MsFacetious · Oct 28, 2008

You would think that a school bus vs a gasoline tanker would be a pretty ugly scene. You would think some kids on the bus would be killed.

Apparently not when those kids are restrained. :thumbsup:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4642527

Hopefully the bus driver will recover quickly.

ketchupqueen · Oct 28, 2008

That's awesome that none were hurt, and thank goodness that district had and that bus driver enforced wearing of the harnesses for all those preschool kids! It could have been really ugly otherwise.

at0micgirl · Oct 28, 2008

SingleMomTo2Girls said:
You would think that a school bus vs a gasoline tanker would be a pretty ugly scene. You would think some kids on the bus would be killed.

Apparently not when those kids are restrained. :thumbsup:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4642527

Hopefully the bus driver will recover quickly.

Thanks for sharing this. I am so glad all those kids are alright. I hope the rest get better soon. And I hope more people get the message that kids need to be restrained, even in big vehicles!

I loved that they showed the cartoon images of bus safety that those kids were exposed to - it's great to see responsible adults caring for kids! =)

Mommypooh · Oct 28, 2008

now I am second guessing my daughters trial run on her school bus, I am not happy they wouldn't let me put a harness on the bus and I don't want her to ride it now. Okay off to cry.

lovinwaves · Oct 28, 2008

That story just gave me goosebumps. My son(just turned 3yrs old) just started riding our Public School Systems bus in an integrated 5-point harness. You can see pictures here: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59857&highlight=camden

Pretty amazing story! :thumbsup:

MsFacetious · Oct 28, 2008

The original article has now been extensively updated, including a lot of pictures. When I initially posted it was just a quick summary.

There is also now this article about belts on buses: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4647032

HEVY · Oct 28, 2008

That's why I'm driving my baby to her trip. No 5-point harnesses on our buses.

sunnyflower417 · Apr 13, 2009

School buses are the safest mode of transportation out there. There are specific reasons the seats are so close together, and the seat backs are so high. It's call compartmentalization. I am a school bus driver and I felt exactly how some of you felt but I learned about how a bus is supposed to protect them. I feel much safer on the bus than I do in my car.

carseatcoach · Apr 13, 2009

Those were preschool-aged children. Preschool-aged children SHOULD be restrained on busses.

SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN ARE SAFER UNBELTED ON BUSSES THAN IN 5-POINT HARNESSES IN CARS!!! (sorry for going crazy caps lady)

BookMama · Apr 13, 2009

I agree with Sunnyflower and Chickabiddy. Preschoolers should be restrained in 5-point harnesses on school buses, but school-aged children are safer unbelted due to compartmentalization.

There have been several recent threads on this topic, with lots of great info and links.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=763018#post763018

SGTex · Apr 13, 2009

Thanks for posting that and to whoever posted the article/video in that thread. My DS has a field trip coming up soon that I've been VERY hesitant to send him on, he's 7 and will be bused for apx 45 min drive on the expressway. I feel better about him going now and about letting my DD ride the bus in the fall too!

lovinwaves · Apr 13, 2009

NHTSA recommends that any "preschooler" be harnessed when riding on a school bus. They define a preschooler as any child that is under 50lbs.

Even though my child will technically be in kindergarten and no longer a preschooler, she will still need to be harnessed on the bus to be considered safe. She is only 30-32lbs.

joolsplus3 · Apr 13, 2009

HEVY said:
That's why I'm driving my baby to her trip. No 5-point harnesses on our buses.

A couple extra feet of polyester webbing (ie, harnesses, they are not magical protection devices imbued with the power to protect against all injury

) is not what what's the safety factor here. School buses are huge (visible and more likely to 'win' in a crash) and safe. It's possible 'our' well restrained kids in our safely maintained cars with our sober selves driving them are about as safe as being in a school bus, but school buses are exceptionally safe and there's no reason to fear them. Just teach your kid to sit still in their seat and they'll be fine :thumbsup:

AtTheSouthDam · Apr 13, 2009

BookMama said:
I agree with Sunnyflower and Chickabiddy. Preschoolers should be restrained in 5-point harnesses on school buses, but school-aged children are safer unbelted due to compartmentalization.

There have been several recent threads on this topic, with lots of great info and links.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=763018#post763018

This is why I am glad out lap/shoulder belt bill FAILED in Colorado. DD1 is well over 50 lbs but will not fit well in a seat belt yet.

DD2 will be driven to school until she hits 50 lbs.

I am VERY happy all those preschoolers were in a five point! If my district would reconsider that I would be ecstatic!

joolsplus3 · Apr 13, 2009

Actually...I'd love buses to have lap/shoulderbelts. The it wouldn't be a safety hazard in bus seats that are proportioned to fit school-age children well...lap/shoulderbelts are only a problem to kids in adult sized vehicle seats. It's lap-only belts in buses that are a problem, as they allow the head to fly forward and strike the seatbacks, rather than allowing the body to hit the seatback all at one time in compartmentalization, and spread the forces out over the whole body rather than just the head (and also it risks seatbelt syndrome from the lapbelt cutting into the abdomen).

BookMama · Apr 13, 2009

I wouldn't be against lap/shoulder belts in school buses if they were adjustable to fit every child, and if the bus driver/monitors could ensure that every child wears a seat belt. I don't want my child injured because another child is unrestrained. (Injured by an unrestrained child who becomes a projectile, or injured by the force of an unrestrained child who hits the back of the seat that my child is strapped to.) :twocents:

AtTheSouthDam · Apr 13, 2009

BookMama said:
I wouldn't be against lap/shoulder belts in school buses if they were adjustable to fit every child, and if the bus driver/monitors could ensure that every child wears a seat belt. I don't want my child injured because another child is unrestrained. (Injured by an unrestrained child who becomes a projectile, or injured by the force of an unrestrained child who hits the back of the seat that my child is strapped to.) :twocents:

Ditto, but IRL it's just not going to happen. Maybe when they are young but could a picture a bus load of middle school students with seat belts? And our buses rarely have a monitor on board, it is just the driver. I remember how awful my bus rides in school were with out seat belts (in regards to how the kids acted). In that bus they would have been weapons. Then you add in who is going to adjust them to go from the 175 lbs foot ball player that rode in the bus from game last night to the 50 lb first grader this morning? Then you add the number of families that are NOT teaching their kids proper car safety, they are not going to sit well in them...

I could go on and on and on...

sunnyflower417 · Apr 13, 2009

I apologize, I didn't realize they were pre-school kids. We harness them until they turn 4 in our district.

keri1292 · Apr 13, 2009

Poor bus driver...81 years old and it sounds like it was his first bus run.

Glad everyone is alive and hope the adults heal quickly.

mfrasier · Apr 13, 2009

I remember that "webbing and padding" you are talking having your whole body hit against as being 'safe'. The metal frame bars of the seat in front were totally coming through. They did not have padding in the back just something like a piece ply wood. I remember getting a huge welt on my head in high school when our bus stopped suddenly much less in a major crash. Besides most people are turned to the side to talk to their friends than actually sitting forward. My legs were to long to be comfortable sitting forward after my 6th grade year. Thankfully, my dad started to drive me to school and then we moved. But, I would definitely check out how old the bus is before putting my kid at any age on it. This was 6/7 years ago but since I moved back I have seen my old bus still picking kids up

School bus vs gasoline tanker (no fatalities)

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