Home Local News NEW IOWA SCHOOL BUSES MAY SOON REQUIRE SAFETY BELTS

NEW IOWA SCHOOL BUSES MAY SOON REQUIRE SAFETY BELTS

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Iowa’s Board of Education gave preliminary approval Thursday to require seatbelts to be installed in all new school buses.

Department of Education transportation director, Max Christensen says the National Transportation Safety Board recommended last may that lap-shoulder belts should be required.

OC………all new school buses” :14

He says there are 16 districts in Iowa that are ordering all of their new buses with lap-shoulder belts, and in conversations with them, they are very, very pleased with them

Christensen says those districts have found a side benefit to the lap belts along with the safe travel.

OC……….eighty per cent. :06

The lap-shoulder belts cost around 123 dollars each, and that would add about 84-hundred dollars to the cost of an average new school bus.

There has long been a debate about adding the lap-shoulder belts to school buses — with the thinking that it made it more difficult to get kids out of the bus in an emergency.

Christensen says the thought process has changed.

OC…….who are injured. ;23

Christensen says another factor is kids now have grown up with seatbelts and are very familiar with their use and how to get out of them.

There will be a public hearing on the proposal June 25th at 10:00 a-m at the board office in Des Moines.

You can also send the board written comments and those and the comments at the hearing will be considered when the board takes final vote on the issue.

Radio Iowa