В Оклахоме возобновляются споры о безопасности школьных автобусов после трагедии в Минко

Minco bus rollover still fuels debate as many Oklahoma school buses lack seat belts MINCO, Oklah. — As thousands of Oklahoma students return to class, questions about school bus safety are resurfacing nearly a year after a Minco school bus rollover injured several people and threw passengers from the vehicle. Many school buses across the state still don't have seat belts for students. “Our buses are not required to have seat belts on them,” said Jennifer Newell, Mustang Public Schools’ safety and security director. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says school buses are built to protect children without passenger seat belts, relying instead on a design that includes closely spaced seats with energy-absorbing backs. That approach is known as compartmentalization. “The very tall back and kind of the shorter seat where your bottom goes, it creates what they call compartmentalization. So, think of like an egg carton,” Newell said. But that design is being questioned since the Minco crash 11 months ago. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the driver swerved to avoid a deer, hit it, then left the road. There were 18 people on the bus, according to OHP. Seven people were injured, and four were ejected, including Minco softball player Brooklyn Reid. “I don’t remember going out the window, but I remember everything like landing,” Reid said. Reid suffered a severe neck injury. Another player was knocked unconscious. Assistant coach Jordan Benge broke his back, 12 ribs, and lost his spleen. The only seat belt on the bus was for the driver. Some school leaders say research has raised concerns about adding seat belts on buses. “Most of the literature on buses actually advises against having seatbelts,” said Dr. Rick Cobb, superintendent of Mid-Del Public Schools. Cobb added, “The preponderance of research suggests that seatbelts actually are, can be a problem on a bus more than they can be help on a bus.” However, the National Transportation Safety Board has found compartmentalization can fail in side-impact and rollover crashes. After studying a similar school bus rollover, federal investigators found lap and shoulder belts offer better protection than compartmentalized seating alone, reducing rollover deaths by 74 percent. Under Oklahoma law, a seat belt is required only for the school bus driver. Local school boards can require passenger belts on buses that are equipped with them. A proposal that would have required buses to carry passenger seat belts, House Bill 1244, never passed committee. Newell said districts also rely on families to reinforce expectations for student behavior on buses. “You have one bus driver on this rolling classroom that’s in charge of 60-65 kids. So, if we could get the parents’ assistance to help us help the kiddos understand what behavior we would like to see on the buses, we would greatly appreciate that,” Newell said.