School Board to Discuss Seat Belt Issue Next Week

The Loudoun County School Board will meet next Tuesday to discuss the issue of school bus seat belts and whether or not they should continue being installed in the near future. 

The Health, Safety and Wellness Committee recently recommended that the school board no longer install the belts, which, if approved, could save as much as $500,000.

However, School Board Member Tom Reed (At Large) said last week that it’s not about the money.

“One of the things I want to be clear about is we’re making an operation decision that has budgetary impacts. The cost of this is secondary,” Reed said. The major factor is that students don’t wear the seat belts, which ends up being a waste of money.

“Studies show that there is no increase in student safety by wearing the seat restraints because of the padding and everything,” Reed said. “If they aren’t being used then it’s something that we need to consider.”

School Board member Bill Fox (Leesburg) agreed. He said that studies have shown school buses to be one of the safest forms of transportation imaginable. One study even showed that a bus is roughly 40 times safer than driving in a car while wearing a seat belt, he said.

“I have not personally seen any conclusive evidence that the installation of seat belts is necessary to keep our kids safe,” Fox said, adding that child safety is a primary concern when it comes to transportation.

“I don’t know of any school bus related injuries in Loudoun, at least not in the recent past, and you’re probably more likely to be injured if you drive your kids to school then if you let them ride the school bus even without seatbelts."

Elizabeth Sien said she’s been a Loudoun County school bus driver for ten years. Students never wear their seat belts, she said, and unfortunately there is no way to enforce it. 

“I can't get up at each bus stop, follow the students to their seats and make sure they buckle up. It's just not practical or realistic,” Sien said. “I believe, as well as the majority of my co-workers, that seat belts are a waste of money.”

Sien said there are a number of other factors to keep in mind. In the event of an accident everyone would have to get off the bus quickly, she said, and it would take twice as long to get the students off the bus if there are problems with the buckles.

Another issue is that, “the seats [with seat belts] are taller and wider. This is problematic because you cannot see the smaller children over the seats,” Sien said. “If you have a child with epilepsy or some other medical issue, you can't keep an eye on them. If you have a larger high school student, they can't fit down the aisle.”

In addition, because the aisles are so narrow, it is hard, as adult, to get down the aisle quickly.

“Again, this could cause serious problems if you have to get to back of the bus quickly to help a child who is hurt or having a medical emergency,” Sien said.

The School Board will meet next Tuesday, March 27, where they hope to make a decision regarding the matter. Members of the public are invited to comment.

Fox said he hopes to see data and hear from those who are against the seat belt removal so he can weigh both of the arguments before making a final decision.

“So far everything I’ve seen is negative. I haven’t seen any good reason to have the seat belts on the buses,” Fox said. “I know there are people who feel very strongly that there should be seat belts on buses but I haven’t seen that data.”