A push to require seat belts on school buses is gaining momentum
nationally and in the Maryland legislature — but the pushback from
school systems likely will be over how to fund such a mandate.
State
Sen. Jim Brochin said he plans to introduce a bill to make seat belts
mandatory on school buses statewide to safeguard children, because,
"Without seat belts, these kids become projectiles — literally crash
test dummies."
Brochin is advocating such a law at a time when the National
Highway Transportation Safety Administration is recommending that all
school buses are equipped with three-point seat belts.
"The
position of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is that
seat belts save lives," NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said last
month, according to published reports.
According to the NHTSA, 327 school-age children died in
school transportation-related accidents between 2004 and 2013, the most
recent year for which data is available. Fifty four of those were
passengers on school transportation vehicles.
Six states — California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and
Texas — now require seat belts on school buses. In Maryland, only buses
that weigh less than 10,000 pounds have mandatory seat belts, because
that is required but federal law, said Leon Langley, director of pupil
transportation for the Maryland Department of Education. But buses under
10,000 pounds are few and far between in the state, Langley said. Some
buses for special education students also have seat belts, but that is
up to individual school districts, Langley said...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/ph-tt-brochin-legislative-agenda-1209-20151209-story.html
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