CONGRESSIONALLY ORDERED SCHOOL BUS STUDY RELEASED

The National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering, conducted the Congressionally mandated study on school bus safety. It was found that: safety standards issued by the National Highway Safety Administration since April 1977, have brought about substantially improved crashworthiness of school buses; equipping the larger Type I pre-1977 school buses with seat belts would not be cost effective and the number of lives saved or the decreased number of injuries would not warrant a federal mandate requiring the installation of seat belts on these type buses. Measures which would be more effective and worthwhile include prohibiting standees on school buses, raising the minimum height of school bus seat backs from 20 to 24 inches, obtaining new energy-absorbing materials and fire resistant or fire retardant materials for seats, increasing the number of emergency exits where applicable, and improving safety of children in school bus loading zones. The study also recommends that a concrete effort be made to upgrade and standardize school bus accident data collected by states so that studies such as this one can better carry out their assigned tasks.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: https://www.library.northwestern.edu/find-borrow-request/requests-interlibrary-loan/lending-institutions.html
• Publication Date: 1989-6

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 25-29
• Serial:
  • School Bus Fleet
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Bobit Publishing Company
  • ISSN: 0036-6501
  • Serial URL: http://schoolbusfleet.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash reports; Emergency exits; Energy absorbing materials; Fire resistance; Loading and unloading; Manual safety belts; Safety; School buses; School children; Seats; Truck loading facilities
• Old TRIS Terms: Energy absorbers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00486594
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1989 12:00AM