Are School Buses Really Safe?
If you are like most parents, you have wondered once or twice about whether school buses are really safe without seatbelts. Though school buses are driven by only the most qualified drivers, and though school bus design has been tested over and over again to ensure that the build provides the utmost safety to the children on board, an average of six children die every year from school bus accident injuries that could have been prevented with seatbelts. While this is only a small fraction of the 42,000 traffic fatalities that occur each year, it is six too many.
To make matters worse, automakers have been required to equip every car with a seatbelt since the 1960s. Still, school buses are not required to have even this most basic of safety equipment. Children – our most precious commodities and our future – are still being put at risk because they lack the proper protection.
It Is Time To Raise Awareness
Though school bus fatalities are rare, approximately 17,000 children are injured in school bus accidents each year. If your child takes the bus to and from school, or even if they ride a bus just for field trips, they are at risk. The best way to protect your child is to fight for the protection and safety equipment that all other motorists are entitled to. Call your local school district and raise concern about the lack of seatbelts on the district’s buses. Ask other parents to do the same. By raising awareness, you may just be able to change the social norm of no seatbelts on buses.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) claims that they are taking measures to improve the safety of school buses. Additionally, they claim that they are working to get seatbelts installed in all buses across the country. However, until that actually happens, too many children will end up getting injured or possibly even die in a school bus accident each year.
Consult a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer
At The Pendas Law Firm, our personal injury lawyers are committed to protecting you and your loved ones. If your little one was involved in a school bus accident and they were injured because they did not have a seatbelt, we understand that you may be feeling frustrated, angry, and a little bit hopeless. But you are not helpless. Contact our Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyers to learn more about your legal options. We can help you determine if you have any rights to legal recourse, and if so, what you need to do to prove your case.
To consult with a Fort Lauderdale auto accident lawyer, call 1-844-200-0000 today. The Pendas Law Firm also serves clients in the Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Daytona, Bradenton, and Orlando areas.
Resources:
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/5/1978?sso=1&sso_redirect_count=1&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token
crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811890
