So the Philadelphia City Council just passed a law requiring seatbelts on school buses. It sounds like a good idea, but it's really a waste of their time and a huge waste of money. If the Inquirer would ever print anything I had to say, here's the letter I'd write:
The City Council's school bus seatbelt mandate is a political move that does nothing for the safety of our city's schoolchildren.
A ten year study showed that there are, on average, 10.2 school bus passenger deaths per year in the entire country. Furthermore, the design of school buses makes fatalities most likely to occur in accidents which tip buses over--which is more uncommon in urban Philadelphia than on an average bus route. Meanwhile a 2002 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that even seatbelts which include shoulder straps, when misused (as many young children will do by simply putting the shoulder strap behind them), can increase the risk of injury in a crash (especially to the abdomen and neck).
It's politically popular to get kids to buckle up, but with all the dangers facing our children, when kids are more likely to get killed walking to school than taking the bus, how can this possibly be a priority? How can this be the best use of limited resources to protect kids? I hope when the new administration begins, the council can start focusing on actual problems instead of handing down useless unfunded mandates.
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