RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - The Rapid City school district is considering retrofitting its fleet of buses with seat belts at a cost of up to $1 million.
A federal panel and the National Transportation Safety Board recommended last week that all buses should be equipped with lap and shoulder seat belts. The guidance comes days after a school bus collision in New Jersey that killed a student and a teacher.
Nearly 1,300 people were killed in school-transportation-related crashes between 2006 and 2015, the board said in its report.
But the Rapid City district’s transportation director, Dennis Berg, told the Rapid City Journal that the school buses are already safe.
The buses’ compact interior design helps with security and the closely spaced seat-backs “absorb energy” on impact, he said.
“Personally, I would put my child or grandson in a school bus before a passenger car,” Berg said.
He said that equipping the nearly 100 buses with seat belts could cost between $750,000 and $1 million.
Berg cautioned that updating the school buses could take 16 years and lead to parent complaints.
“I am not opposed to seat belts in the school bus, but (I) do have a lot of questions on implementing, enforcing, and driver liability,” Berg said.
Education officials haven’t decided on the school bus changes, said district spokeswoman Katy Urban. The national board’s recommendations aren’t mandatory. Urban anticipates school leaders will consider the issue over the summer.
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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
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