Let’s face it: our school buses are unsafe. In Vermont, our school buses that weigh over five tons are not required to have seat belts, and most don’t. The few that do are equipped with nothing but trailing, dirty, lap belts or tiny five-point harnesses in the front few seats. But we can do better! Three-point seat belts on school buses would change that.

As a track and cross-country runner, I frequently ride school buses going 65 mph down interstate highways with practically no protection. Sure, I know there have been studies that have disproved school bus seat belts, but hear me out.

Most studies, such as one by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1997, have been performed on front-end collisions, the most common type of bus crash. In a crash like this, a concept called compartmentalization comes into play. This means that a close, padded, high seat back will actually reduce the severity of ⅕ of injuries, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

When traveling at interstate speeds though, the chance of rolling on impact is much higher, and a 65 mph roll without seat belts would be catastrophic. When riding a classic school bus, you can’t help but notice the alarming fragility and thinness of the walls, literally thinner than the windows. It’s hard not to imagine something going wrong.

On the other hand, let’s assume that this bus is fitted with seat belts in every seat. Australia’s Australasian College of Road Safety chief executive Dr. Ingrid Johnston says that buses with three-point seat belts are fifty percent safer than those without. This is key here: most studies on this topic are performed on buses outfitted with two-point lap belts. These cost much less than three-point (or lap-shoulder) belts, but pretty much only anchor your body, which increases whiplash.

One huge issue with lap-shoulder restraints is cost. A lot of people think that paying an additional $10,000 per bus is an insane price. Well, get this: a good school bus air conditioning system costs an average of $9,400! In a state like Vermont, where the summer temperature rarely rises above a mere ninety-five degrees, would you rather have students be fifty percent cooler, or fifty percent less likely to die? I think that the choice is clear.

Though the argument for compartmentalization is a strong one, the facts just undeniably point towards three-point seatbelts being ultimately safer on fast buses than nothing. I’m not saying that we should outfit every single Vermont bus with these harnesses; but if we purchase all new buses going frequently over forty mph with these appropriate safety features, Vermont will confidently be able to keep its status as one of the safest states for transportation in the nation.

Beowulf Yarbrough
VUMS Student

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Students at Vergennes Union Middle School finished a civics unit by writing open letters. The driving question was: What makes democracy work? To create this final project, teachers and students used the New York Times open letter contest framework. Students could choose any topic they felt passionate about. The letters are being published in several different venues: in our school newsletter, on Front Porch Forum, in The Addison Independent, and on school bulletin boards. Two students submitted their letters to the NYT contest! Our students did a wonderful job writing these letters, and we hope you enjoy reading the ones that appear here. We expect these students will continue to use their voices to highlight issues they care about!

Libby Payeur and Nan Guilmette
VUMS Humanities Teachers