School bus safety

When looking at ways to save lives, cost should not be the only consideration. At this point, a convincing argument has yet to be made that adding seat belts to school buses in Missouri would save lives, but estimates are that it would take an additional $60 million to do so.

Legislation in the Missouri House of Representatives would require all new buses to have seat belts. School officials say they are concerned about the extra cost. Only some financially strapped school districts would received any help with the cost under the proposed bill.

In 2004, the latest year for which statistics are available, there were two school bus-related fatalities in Missouri. Both involved students who were outside the bus. Seat belts would not have been a factor in their deaths.

The state already has laws intended to save lives, including a requirement that motorists and passengers in vehicles wear seat belts. The Missouri State Highway Patrol all too frequently includes this bit of information in its reports on traffic fatalities: Seat belts were not used.

If the intention is to save lives, the state might better spend its resources on educating Missourians about the life-saving protection that comes from driving safely, soberly and while wearing seat belts. School buses are, for the most part, one of the safest modes of transportation.