Why don't school buses have seat belts again?

cant_help_myself · 2012-09-21T18:04:32+00:00

Because buses are already 40x safer than cars.

Only 6 kids a year die in school bus accidents while 800 a year die getting to school in cars/bikes/walking. Adding seatbeats adds to bus cost and reduces bus occupancy, so making them mandatory would mean fewer kids being bussed overall since schools are already broke. So even if seatbelts were 100% effective (6 lives saved), if 1% more kids were walking/riding/being driven to school, you'd wind up with more deaths (800 -> 808).

Cool video, though.

CausticSerpent · 2012-09-21T17:59:22+00:00

Surprisingly, this is actually safer than having the children stuck to their seats. It's weird, I know. But the general idea is that /most/ things can't shove a bus around and they very rarely tip over since they won't go very fast.

EDIT: Okay, replace 'can't go very fast' with 'takes like a million years to accelerate so you can't really speed on city roads.'

More crashes happen on regular city roads than on freeways.

capt_slim · 2012-09-21T20:01:33+00:00

So great .gifs like this can be made.

tits_hemingway · 2012-09-21T20:26:35+00:00

I always assumed it was because kids would beat the shit out of each other with the buckles.

bigxy3242 · 2012-09-21T21:38:26+00:00

Bus Ro DAH!

Koreakat · 2012-09-21T23:02:39+00:00

TO THE WINDOW, TO THE WALL... oops.

letler · 2012-09-21T20:39:07+00:00

All the buses I was on growing up had them, no one wore them though.

R3dDawg · 2012-09-21T18:09:16+00:00

The seats are used for "compartmentalization" because the seats are welded and screwed into the flooring, and the seats are meant to absorb the blow. Belts could be dangerous and undependant because the kids would either misuse them or damage them (scissors constant pulling and tugging)

Slippery_John · 2012-09-21T20:26:21+00:00

I've noticed a lot of people comment on the fact that buses don't tend to flip, but that's only half the story. You see, while they may not flip easily, they do catch on fire. If you've ever ridden on a bus you'll have noticed that every five seats or so there's a special latch on a window that sets of the a small fire alarm when pulled. You'll also notice escape hatches on the top, as well as the door in the back. Many schools even have fire drills just for the buses.

i_attend_goat_orgies · 2012-09-21T21:51:11+00:00

I've seen this gif so many times before, does anyone have sauce on this? Any of these kids die?

SamanthaFishon · 2012-09-21T19:34:24+00:00

Every school bus I have ever been on had seat belts ... :/

jbrittles · 2012-09-21T22:00:08+00:00

my assumption is that the most common bus accident would be that it tips on its side which could strangle half of the kids. cars dont do that because they are so much smaller.

CyberSoldier8 · 2012-09-21T22:22:28+00:00

Our buses have them, but we are specifically told not to use them because they are so shitty it won't actually save you at all, and it locks you to the seat if you get knocked out in a crash which could make it impossible for someone to haul you out of the seat if there was a fire or something.

noparticularpoint · 2012-09-21T23:21:11+00:00

It's not just cost or occupancy. In most accidents (although maybe not this one) the kids are safer without seat belts because when the bus runs into something the belt restrains their pelvis while their upper body snaps forward and their head hits the seat ahead, usually causing more severe injury. If you look at school buses these days you'll find more padding on the backs of the seats and you'll see that the pillars between the windows are located between the seats (to prevent kids from going out windows). The net result is that kids are generally better off (believe it or not) ricocheting around inside the bus than having their neck snapped when their head hit the seat in front or being thrown out of the bus entirely. Also, kids tend to use seat belt buckles to whack each other if you give them belts.

BOLDAT · 2012-09-21T21:26:57+00:00

BUS RO DAH

Casper92 · 2012-09-21T21:31:51+00:00

To the windows!

UncharismaticGorilla · 2012-09-21T21:35:50+00:00

Kind of relevant...

In the next county, a school bus rolled 3 times. 12 kids airlifted to the hospital, 3 in critical condition. Granted an accident like this is unlikely, but it's just a horrible situation.

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/235404/2/Developing-School-bus-crash-sends-a-dozen-Washington-Co-students-to-hospital

NeverNeutral · 2012-09-21T22:28:53+00:00

That looks like an odd shoe commercial

Isakill · 2012-09-21T22:45:30+00:00

Because injury rate would go UP on the trips to and from school.

Why, You ask? In the words of my old bus driver:

Kids would be smacking each other with the buckles.

jgilbs · 2012-09-21T23:07:28+00:00

Looks like this: http://www.ncsbs.org/crash_reports_2003/school_bus_rolling_over.htm

According to the article, no one was seriously injured. Apparently the bus driver swerved to avoid a car that was coming at her head on. Then she went to trial for failure to control her bus? WTF, Ohio?

TheGreatAntlers · 2012-09-21T23:15:51+00:00

Fus ro DAH

shorty6049 · 2012-09-21T23:53:18+00:00

If it makes anyone feel better, that gif looks like it's playing at close to double the actual video speed

CitizenTed · 2012-09-21T23:58:12+00:00

This is just an anecdote, but it shows how safe school buses are...

Way back when, I was taking the morning bus to school in central NJ. Bus was nearly full. We were heading down an arterial road at about 35-40mph when some old man in a Buick runs a red light directly into our path. The driver had no time to brake. We ate that car at full trot. The front of the bus crunched forward, lurching up and over the car, dragging it past the intersection and up the road a bit. Finally, the huge wreck lurched to stop. The driver put it in reverse to back it off the car.

We all got a good Newtonian jarring by the sudden deceleration. There were a few scratches and bruises. But that was it. The old man in the Buick died on the scene. The bus front end was crunched up and the front suspension was ruined, but otherwise it was OK. They called in another bus and we got to school late but 99% unharmed.

My analysis: school buses are big, huge, heavy, lumbering giants. They are quite safe and I don't think kids need to be belted in.

NEEMICK · 2012-09-22T04:44:37+00:00

it looks like they are playing rock the bus and took it to far

DillyG101 · 2012-09-22T05:06:34+00:00

Because this is hilarious.

DominizZzle · 2012-09-22T05:42:34+00:00

Is it bad that I laughed really hard at this?

sp104 · 2012-09-21T19:15:27+00:00

Because kids are assumed to be too stupid to unbuckle themselves in case of something like a fire or crashing into water.

The seats are designed for them to not need belts and for head on or rear collisions they're not likely so suffer injury. Adding on the fact that the passengers of a school bus are well above most other vehicles on the road so direct impacts wouldn't be with the passengers but below them most of the time.

Brahanadon · 2012-09-21T21:53:15+00:00

Every school bus I've been in has seat belts.

K-Diz · 2012-09-21T22:01:18+00:00

Fus Ro DAH!!

A_walmart_greeter · 2012-09-21T22:09:41+00:00

Saw thos on tv a few years back. The driver had a seizure and drove off the road and into a ditch, rolling the bus onto its side. No kids were seriously injured. Not sure about the driver though

DoctorHeadshot · 2012-09-21T22:35:06+00:00

Because children tend to fly nicer then adults

TheBSReport · 2012-09-21T22:37:03+00:00

Because F=MA

SomeGamerKid · 2012-09-21T22:46:40+00:00

The ones I've been in do, but nobody uses them because it's too hard to find the corresponding buckle.

Calrhoads · 2012-09-21T22:47:19+00:00

I'm on a bus right now

hivemindharvest · 2012-09-21T23:15:52+00:00

because it would cost someone money. sad, i know.

GumdropSugarPlum · 2012-09-21T23:18:59+00:00

This happened to me in 4th grade! My bus fell sideways off the edge of the edge of the road into a giant ditch

Mr_Anders0n · 2012-09-21T23:29:36+00:00

Am I a monster for laughing more each time it repeats

goldenperfect · 2012-09-21T23:45:25+00:00

oh THIS gif again

21nipples · 2012-09-21T23:52:47+00:00

Gravity on, gravity off

WaStEdxxHEaRtBeATs · 2012-09-22T00:06:27+00:00

And that son...was the first time I had sex with mommy when we were little.

Castigar2000 · 2012-09-22T00:11:14+00:00

It's called compartmentalization; it's the way seats are designed. Adding seatbelts wouldn't be cost effective as far as improving crash survivability. Statistically buses are still much safer than most other modes of transportation.

EMZ69 · 2012-09-22T00:20:22+00:00

A school bus flipped in my town like yesterday. There were lots of helicopters out.

6degreestoBillMurray · 2012-09-22T00:26:37+00:00

As a school bus driver, I hope they never put seat belts on my bus. If I'm ever in a serious accident, I'd have to go through and cut the seat belts off of god only knows how many kids. It takes a bus maybe 10 seconds to be fully engulfed in flames if there's a fire.

Also, the seats are designed to catch the kids if they're sitting in them properly. That's why they're so close together, and also why your bus driver used to yell at you to sit in your seats all the time (if they were doing their job).

Accidents like the one in the video are unbelievably rare. School buses are statistically the safest mode of transport ever.

LLv2 · 2012-09-22T00:28:43+00:00

Why don't security cameras on buses have better frame rates?

Bowser88 · 2012-09-22T00:34:50+00:00

Everyone jump to the left, we're gonna tip it over.

DigitalChocobo · 2012-09-22T00:37:55+00:00

Source video

And here's an improved version.

Malik93 · 2012-09-22T00:40:56+00:00

Builds character

bumblerattack · 2012-09-22T00:42:00+00:00

To the windows to the wall

Nihilithik · 2012-09-22T00:53:37+00:00

I thought it was completely down to cost vs safety and that fact that children arent really in danger in a bus. I thought the $$ to install belts severely outweighted the safety increase it would cause

trampus1 · 2012-09-22T01:01:42+00:00

Because they make the crash videos boring.

ShootMinePlay · 2012-09-22T01:10:02+00:00

FUS RO DAH

smashathehulk · 2012-09-22T01:14:43+00:00

the kids on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round...

Colts_Dog · 2012-09-22T01:14:48+00:00

I drive a school bus. There are no seat belts because:

Seat backs act as a restraint.
Cost due to capacity restraints. My elementary route has 3 to a seat in almost every seat. Seat belts would reduce capacity and require more buses & drivers.
Impossible to get kids to comply.
Because fuck you, that's why!

shhyguuy · 2012-09-22T01:17:18+00:00

My school bus did... but nobody ever used them anyway

atticustomemory · 2012-09-22T01:19:32+00:00

They passed the worlds strongest kid magnet.

throwmcway192 · 2012-09-22T01:25:40+00:00

Because Mass anti gravity weapons aren't in widespread production yet. The one shown here was a prototype.

1fofo · 2012-09-22T01:28:25+00:00

to the window!!! to the wall!!

wirelesswizard64 · 2012-09-22T01:31:20+00:00

So we can make videos like this.

Dev1l5Adv0cat3 · 2012-09-22T01:41:29+00:00

Cause that's so entertaining to watch.

Horse_Guy · 2012-09-22T01:43:25+00:00

Fus ro dah!

manskies · 2012-09-22T01:44:29+00:00

Was Auto driving that bus?

theoneandonly19 · 2012-09-22T01:47:11+00:00

am I a bad person for laughing at this?

stonewiki · 2012-09-22T01:59:11+00:00

Freedom

CravingSunshine · 2012-09-22T02:09:45+00:00

In my school district and possibly the whole state, all school busses have seat belts.

Re_LProxies · 2012-09-22T02:14:00+00:00

Kept looking at it too much, started to look like an epic moshpit.

Garrick75 · 2012-09-22T02:17:32+00:00

A school bus flipped at least 3 times yesterday in my town. Was worried to death for a couple of hours that my ex's kid was on board. Luckily he was not.

http://johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=102489

vivasativa · 2012-09-22T02:24:59+00:00

I like to imagine someone took a giant child magnet, put it next to the bus, and switched on full power.

wellhushmypuppies · 2012-09-22T02:27:43+00:00

that looks like as good a reason as any to me.

MrYaah · 2012-09-22T02:28:52+00:00

They're also not supposed to have cameras

Goldenelm · 2012-09-22T02:37:08+00:00

Hey this happened in my county.

radii314 · 2012-09-22T02:39:49+00:00

kids are all cartilage - they're like superballs ... a few bounces and they bounce back again

iLuVtiffany · 2012-09-22T02:45:28+00:00

Population control. Seriously, buses are actually stupid safe compared to other forms of travel.

xsamx321 · 2012-09-22T02:49:17+00:00

The seat belts that school buses have can actually break you're hip if you get into an accident.

psuedopseudo · 2012-09-22T02:51:52+00:00

relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBM8QM6X0Rs

JayGryph · 2012-09-22T02:52:34+00:00

Imagine all the bruises from kids hitting each other with seatbelts.

LoftyDog · 2012-09-22T02:59:05+00:00

I was always thought kids didn't have to wear searbelts because if it was a rule and a kid was having trouble the bus driver would have to help, and that puts them very close to the kids waist. Parents are always afraid of perverts/pedos so they wouldn't want that. You would think I'd it's not required at least be encouraged. The never asked us to wear them.

aj_ski · 2012-09-22T03:02:44+00:00

I want to know why there is a kid without shoes on... Was the accident that powerful to knock his shoes off or when he woke up did he say "fuck it, no shoes today."

amc-CR · 2012-09-22T03:08:09+00:00

someone should turn that gif so when the kids go to the left they go down

literacolax · 2012-09-22T03:13:07+00:00

This happened in my hometown, at my school at the time. No one was killed, I think the worst injury was a broken arm.

karma4prez · 2012-09-22T03:16:26+00:00

A lot of buses have them, its just that no one wants to be the only pussy wearing a seat belt.

omglaurent · 2012-09-22T03:16:46+00:00

did they die?

jfb423 · 2012-09-22T03:17:38+00:00

Wow. This just happened in my town yesterday. This is actually an issue they are talking about. http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=102505

DopeBoyG · 2012-09-22T03:19:17+00:00

Actually, there are these new busses some schools have. With longer seats, 3 seatbelts per, and the bus driver obliges us to wear them.

Riemann_Solution · 2012-09-22T03:23:38+00:00

I'd like to think someone put a child magnet up next to the bus.

thevoidistoolarge · 2012-09-22T03:27:24+00:00

I can just here the sound, like throwing heavy garbage bags in an empty dumpster.

stainonmyshirt · 2012-09-22T03:28:07+00:00

All the school buses I went on had seat belts. I live in Connecticut and have attended school here all my life. They were never used and the couple times in elementary school they tried to make us use them failed miserably.

Zubz95 · 2012-09-22T03:34:17+00:00

Children magnets at work.

thegreatwhitemenace · 2012-09-22T03:49:38+00:00

SLAMMO

Spyder44 · 2012-09-22T03:51:41+00:00

Looks like two conga lines... Da da da da da HEY!!

Amuter · 2012-09-22T03:51:44+00:00

LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT THE FUCK I M GONNA DO ABOUT YOUR REPOST

I downvote you!

JUSTICE PREVAILS ONCE MORE!!

ChoadFarmer · 2012-09-22T03:52:31+00:00

It's sad that the first thing I thought was "EWWW, THE GROSS KID IS TOUCHING ME!'. Yes, I had a bad childhood.

virtualmatrix555 · 2012-09-22T03:53:22+00:00

When I was in elementary school, those buses had seat belts but from middle school through high school those particular buses did not. We had a crazy ass bus driver in middle school, once stopped in the middle of an intersection and threatened to have us all killed. Papa Smurf, remember the name, Gulfport, MS.

redstonenico · 2012-09-22T04:00:04+00:00

Sadly they do.

animeari · 2012-09-22T04:00:36+00:00

A lot of busses do have seat belts (at least in my own experience), but nobody bothers to wear them even when they are present.

itsme_yourdad · 2012-09-22T04:07:09+00:00

Because you're never supposed to turn on your port-side child magnet. It's too powerful.

Davecasa · 2012-09-22T04:09:50+00:00

Three main reasons:

They would create more injuries than they would prevent, due to the way school busses are constructed and belts would be attached. Seat belts also tend to cause more severe injuries in children than adults.
School bus accidents resulting in severe injuries are incredibly rare to begin with.
You could never get the kids to wear them reliably. If you came anywhere close, route duration would get ridiculous.

Source: My uncle works in bus/paratransit accidents. Mostly paratransit these days because that's where the money is... School busses are too safe for his line of work.

Throwawaychica · 2012-09-22T04:14:55+00:00

Our school district requires them.

raradar · 2012-09-22T04:15:39+00:00

And I just got done reading "The Sweet Hereafter."

laughing_pug · 2012-09-22T04:17:17+00:00

It's beautiful when the time is sped up so that the kids are slammed sideways at hyperspeed (watch the clock)

cookiesone · 2012-09-22T04:28:29+00:00

Watching this to dub step is hilarious.

grandehead · 2012-09-22T04:48:17+00:00

Because you wouldn't be able to jump when the bus hits a speed bump.

khortonworld · 2012-09-22T04:52:38+00:00

is there a breeze in here?

HotwaxNinjaPanther · 2012-09-22T05:04:17+00:00

I thought it was because kids end up strangling each other or themselves with bus seat belts. It's harder to monitor them while you're driving. If the kid doesn't fasten himself in snugly and the bus stops a little too hard, the kid's going to slide under the seatbelt, under the seat in front of him, get the belt caught under his chin and choke to death, flailing.

BaronVonSlapNuts · 2012-09-22T05:09:15+00:00

Why doesn't Reddit use Karma Decay as a repost filter again?

MaddieCakes · 2012-09-22T05:11:51+00:00

I really fucking hate myself for laughing at this.

snotpocket · 2012-09-22T05:54:50+00:00

As someone who once drove a school bus (yay part time college work): the kids would beat the shit out of each other with those things. There'd probably be a fatality a week if we provided each bus with 60+ built in, readily available flails.

arabianmango · 2012-09-22T06:00:45+00:00

whenever I see this I immediately think...FUS RO DA!!!

Snafoza · 2012-09-22T06:23:09+00:00

am I a bad person for laughing at this?

fromaarontoashes · 2012-09-22T06:38:03+00:00

All the school busses I rode had seatbelts on them.

Sauna1980 · 2012-09-22T06:57:53+00:00

given that most buses these days are driven by Indians more accustomed to a donkey cart we absolutely need seat belts

The_Spectator · 2012-09-22T07:08:09+00:00

Some do and let me tell you. I take back all the hate I had for them when I was required to use them.

budguy68 · 2012-09-22T07:36:05+00:00

God damn stupid fucking ignorant people like the OP are always saying stupid shit. " Ohh I hear some people died in their tub while bathing last year so why dont people wear helmets when bathing again...? derp derp derp!" Seriously OP, go fucking shot your face with a double barrel shutgun or shut the fuck up. I like riding my motorcycle without a helpmet sometimes. Its my life, fuck you.

sirunclecid · 2012-09-22T07:45:54+00:00

Because they shouldn't be on their side anyways? Seatbelts would probably destroy those kids... and then they're too stupid to unbuckle the shit anyways.

WTF

MODERATORS

you'll need to login or register to do that

create a new account

login