Should it be Mandatory for School Buses to Have Seat Belts?

This is a question I have always enjoyed discussing because I’m a firm believer that seat belts should be mandatory for every bus regardless whether it’s a school bus or a bus used for fares. Years ago there were many students standing in the aisles of the bus as it moved and this was dangerous because oft times the bus driver would have to come to a sudden halt and students would end up injured.

I’m sure the students “still” have to stand at times due to “no” seats available and they are in jeopardy of being hurt or possibly killed. Seat belts should be installed in every school bus in the United States, and it should be a mandatory requirement that all students seat belts are locked and into place before the bus moves forward. These seat belts should set off an alarm if any student is not locked into place. This could also be a way of preventing students from roaming around in the bus when it is in a moving mode. If we stop to think about it, a bus driver is responsible for all the children’s lives on his/her bus and every precautionary measure should be taken for the safety of our school children.

The lives of our children are precious and we must see that they’re protected. It’s my opinion, every parent should stand up and vote for the installation of seat belts in every school district in every town in the United States. It is too late when a bunch of our children are killed because they did not have seat belts. It has been proven numerous of times that seat belts do save lives.

Many people may say, “Oh, children can get hung in a seat belt too;” yes, they can but if they are taught how to properly use their seat belts, the odds are likely the seat belt will release and allow the children to free themselves if need be. It would be much safer to have our students in a properly fastened seat belt than for them to have “no” safety protection at all.

We as parents and teachers need to fight for the right to have seat belts installed in our school buses to protect our children from harm. If seat belts are mandatory for automobiles, etc., they should be mandatory for school buses and commercial fare buses. Let’s work on getting seat belts for all school buses.