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School bus seat belts: Should Florida law require all students on all school buses to wear seat belts?
Comment: We should because of what just happened. If no students were wearing their seatbelts, imagine what would happen to them. Some of them would of probably in killed. Its like being in a car. You're not safe in a bus or a car but if you wear a seatbelt, it will save your life and if you get a serious injury, you will regret not wearing a seatbelt from Crestview/FL by Sarah
Comment: I drive a school bus in the Crestview area. The Supreme Court ruled that we can not make a child wear the seat belts. Check it out. by Terry
Comment: had these kids not been in seat belts this accident would have been a tragedy. from Crestview,fl by Robyn
Comment: yes i believe that all school buses should have seat belts. if the kids involved in that accident were not wearing seat belts they could have sustained more than just minor cuts and bruises. this definatly proves that seat belts save lives! from Pensacola, FL by Carmen
Comment: The problem is not with the law mandating that all buses have seat belts or with the students wearing the seat belts. The problem is that the driver cannot see who is or is not "buckled up".
Comment: I am a first grade student at Walker. I would feel safe to wear a seatbelt on a bus. So we will not get hurt. from Crestview Florida by Riley
Comment: I look at it this way... If the school systems want law suits on there hands for students not wearing seatbelts they better get busy installing them in each and every bus. Kids maybe able to bounce back, but not all the time. Someone could of been seriously hurt. Thank god for that one. He was watching over those kids. from Fort Walton Beach, Fl by Sheree
Comment: A bus driver has no way of knowing if every student is buckled up or not. Suppose another bad accident happens like the one on Wednesday in Santa Rosa County, and students involved were not buckled up. Then they would point fingers at the bus driver, wondering why students weren't wearing seatbelts. Seatbelts on buses doesn't necessarily mean they will wear them. by Quincy
Comment: They got lucky this time. What is gonna happen if there is a next? from Fort Walton Beach, Fl by Sheree
Comment: All the buses should have seat belt not just a few.
Comment: Of course, it is again proven that seat belts save lives. from Crestview, FL by Karla
Comment: Yes, I think children should wear seatbelts because it has been proven on Wed. that the seatbelts saved those children from being seriously hurt or even dead But the question is who will get the ticket if the bus is pulled over for a child not wearing a seatbelt on the bus? The driver or the parents? from Milton,Fl. by Brandy
Comment: I absolutely believe they should. This accident only punctuates it. They have to be buckled in your personal vehicle why not in a bus! Those seatbelts saved many lives today. We were truely lucky today. from Navarre, Fl by John
Comment: The seat belt laws should extend to all vehicles including a school bus. It is safer for the children and the driver does not have to contend with children trying to move about the bus. Seatbelts help maintain control for the driver and as we have seen today, they save lives. from Gulf Breeze, FL by David
Comment: This case is a prime example of how seat belts can save lives, even on a bus. We trust that our children will be safe when on school field trips. All possible precautions should be taken to ensure the safety of children when being transported in school vehicles. The law requires that those riding in private vehicles wear seatbelts for safety purposes. The same requirements should apply to students riding on school buses. from Pace FL by Lisa
Comment: Seatbelts should be installed on all buses. The cost of a life would be much greater than the cost of the belts and ALL students should be required to wear them. from Pensacola Fl by Jackie
Comment: As evidenced by this situation, seat belts save lives! An additional serendipity, is if the kids are in their seats, wearing their seat belts, they are more likely to behave. The belts also bring the added benefit of less distractions for the driver. from Niceville by Ed
Comment: I hope that anytime the children go on field trips (including the summer childcare), they will be riding in buses that have seat belts. from Crestview, FL by Carrie
Comment: My son is a 3rd grader at a different elementary school in Crestview and 2 weeks ago we had a field trip to Pensacola, it was the 1st time I saw a school bus that had seat belts. The sad thing is I can't remember anyone putting them on. I look back now and think how stupid it was not to put it on or make the kids wear them. I guess what Im saying is that yes seatbelts are good but like in any vehicle they only work if your wearing them. In this case the teacher and driver were angles and saved someone but I feel the outcome would have been a lot different if that would have been the bus I was on a few weeks ago. from Crestview, FL
Comment: Personally I don't feel school buses are safe and all school buses should have seat belts on them. from Crestview by Dawn
Comment: It should be a criminal offense for a driver to allow anyone on the bus not be buckled in while the bus is in motion! I would imagine as a side "bonus" that kids would be less likely to get into mischief if they're "bolted down" from Gulf Breeze by Tommy
Comment: I think all school buses in the United States should have seat belts, including the older buses that are still being used. from Milton/Florida by Walter
Comment: This incident proves that seatbelts save lives! All school buses should have them to protect our childrens lives and help insure their safety. Imagine how much worse this could have been without them! from Crestview, fl by Toni
Comment: ABSOLUTLEY! As the mother of a child on that bus, I do think it should be a law. What I'd like to know is why if it's been a requirement since 2001 for school buses to be built with seat belts, as you reported, why there isn't a law that the children must wear them? God Bless my daughter's teacher, Mrs. Woods for insisting that they wear those seat belts. I still have my little girl because of them. YES, let's make it a law!!! from Crestview, FL by Dana
Comment: if we need seatbelts in our cars then we need them on schoolbusses from pensacola fl by amy
Comment: This incident proves that seatbelts save lives! All school buses should have them to protect our childrens lives and help insure their safety. Imagine how much worse this could have been without them! I understand that there is a cost with making all school buses have seat belts, but how much are our childrens lives worth? from Crestview, fl by Toni
Comment: I believe all children should be properly buckled in before the bus departures, thats leaving from school, loading, or any extra circular activities. All buses should require seat belts, because this sounds to me like a shout from heaven. But, I do understand that our county does have a budget, but for our community and our people its in best interests. -Kim from Crestview, Florida by Kimberly
Comment: Hard to believe that I can be ticketed for letting my children ride in the car without seat belts. When a school bus is involved in anything other that a minor accident, and the children are not wearing seat belt, they are children seriously injuried. Seems like a double standard to me. from Cantonment, Fl by Neal
Comment: This incident proves that seatbelts save lives! All school buses should have them to protect our childrens lives and help insure their safety. Imagine how much worse this could have been without them! I understand that there is a cost with making all school buses have seat belts, but how much are our childrens lives worth? from Crestview, fl by Toni
Comment: I have 3 children that go to school and I know that I would be very angry if something would have happened to one of my children because of an accident all because they were not wearing their seatbelt. So, yes, there should be seat belts on every bus and the bus driver needs to make sure that they are buckled up. from Milton/Florida by Pam
Comment: Every school bus should have seat belts equipped but because of such a low budget we cannot afford to. You cannot PHYSICALLY make a child wear there seat belt but, if you have made the point clear to them every time they departure theres no more you can do, there children and your only human. You cannot see there laps of the children from were bus drivers sit.
I think the bus driver did exactly what she should have for our community and i am very grateful. from Crestview, Florida by Debra
Comment: Absolutely, as a driver/parent I make sure my children are buckled up. With bus drivers they have to focus more with defensive driving plus the distractsions from the students. We put our childrens health and welfare in the hands of a stranger we don't even know. So lets see the district "click it" and make our childs bus ride a safer one. from Pensacola FL by Rick
Comment: Today, lives were saved it should be law.. Every child should have that right to be safe. Make it law !! from Navarre, Florida by LaNay
Comment: Duh! from Pensacola by Jane
Comment: The law requires me to put seatbelts on my children for their safety. It should be no different for school buses, especially because there are 10 times as many children on the bus. from Pensacola by Christy
Comment: All vehicles should be equipped with seat belts from Navarre FL by Georgia
Comment: I have always thought children should wear seatbelts on buses. If they are required to wear them in cars and trucks what is the diference in a school bus where there is a much larger chance of them being injured by steel bars and lots more room to fly around if an accident occurs. from Baker, FL by Joy
Comment: Seatbelts save lives,need I say more?? Most of the buses in this area DO NOT have them and many of the bus drivers do not have control of what the children are doing while on the bus. It could only improve the safety of all concerned. from Navarre, FL by Todd
Comment: It is a law in my car why not @ school? from baker, fl by meri
Comment: I was shocked when my young son did not have to wear a seatbelt on a bus. The reason they don't require seatbelts is because they don't want to spend the money to install them. But, They require them for the regular population. If the normal population had a wreck and a child died because we didn't put his/her seatbelt on we could go to jail. How is it that a school system doesn't receive the same consequences.Unless the state thinks their exempt from fair and equal treatment. from CANTONMENT by M
Comment: It is a law for all other vehichles and school buses should not be the exception.Children do not realize what is best for them and do not stay in their sits on a school bus. They stand up, sit sidways, and backwards, which only increases the risk of injury should an accident occur. Children are our future and our most priceless jewels. We as parents and law makers should not put thier lives at risk of danger when they are in the care of others who may and may not be as responsible as they should be. from Pensacola by Allyson
Comment: I believe it is clear that injuries were limited because of the seatbelts that were on that bus. However, how many of our schools have busses equipped with seatbelts? I chaperone field trips with my kindergartener at Baker School, and I've never seen a seatbelt on an Okaloosa County School District bus. So, I would like to know what is the percentage of busses equipped with seatbelts and how is it decided what schools get them? Next time there's a bus accident, we may not be so lucky if there are no seatbelts on that bus--try explaining our school budgets and lack of funding for safer busses to those parents. from Baker, FL by anonymous
Comment: I think they should have seatbelts in every bus from florida by ben
Comment: Yes to seat belts on school buses in Florida and the entire Nation. I am the grandmother of one of the four children killed in the Cottonwood MN bus accident on February 19th just 4 months ago. My grandson Reed Stevens along with Jesse and Hunter Javens and Emilie Olson were killed when their bus was hit by a mini van. The troopers say that if the children had been wearing seat belts it may have been a different outcome but for sure it made the difference yesterday for the children from Okaloosa. You may contact me if you wish. KARE 11 news will have the story on the Cottonwood bus accident. from Gulf Breeze FL by Sheran
Comment: i think that bussing students should stop. it is an unneeded expense for the school system. there are other schools systems around the world who get more bang for their buck because the transportation of the students are done by the parents. in these days of cut backs...busses should go away from p'cola by h
Comment: my neice was on that bus and i have 3 children of my own who ride a bus both ways every day and I think they should have them on every bus it would make me feel alot better that my kids were safe. from crestview by jennifer
Comment: Setting all "law" aside for a moment, common sense would dictate it. After all, kids are sent to school to learn -- wearing seat belts is part of the learning process. If we are going to educate our children, let's do it right. from Mary Esther, Fl. by Tom
Comment: ALL school buses should have seatbelts for the childrens safety! Imagine how much worse this accident could have been if the bus did not have seatbelts and the children were not wearing them! I realize that there is a cost in ensuring this, but how much are our childrens safety and lives worth? from Crestview, FL by Toni
Comment: No! It would be too difficult to enforce. I would much rather the bus driver be more focused on the road than to be monitoring whether or not the children were wearing their seat belts. To enforce it safetly would require additional aids on the bus. Not only that, but with violence rising in our schools the belts could easily be used as a weapon. from Pensacola by Tonya
Comment: I believe that this accident proves that seatbelts can save lives. Everyone, especially children is required to wear seatbelts in other vehicles. I think school buses should not be an exception. Our childrens safety should be priority. from Crestview,Fl by Angela
Comment: Yes, students should have to wear seatbelts. The bus drivers should also be able to enforce the use as well. I know they are not allowed to enforce it now so the kids can unbuckle as soon as the bus starts. from Milton, FL by Nicole
Comment: Florida has a seal belt law and it needs to be inforced no matter what kind of vechile you or in. from Crestview, Fl by Melissa
Comment: I drive a schoolbus with seatbelts, but I have no recourse if the students don't wear them. My elementary school principal stands behind us enforcing the wearing of seatbelts, but middleschool & highschool students are another story. There is nothing we can do to "force" them to wear them, ie bus suspensions, etc. The school district needs to add something to the students handbook that states that if a bus is equipped with seatbelts, a student is REQUIRED to wear them. from Pensacola, Fl by Barb
Comment: IN MY OLD SCHOOL BUS, THE BUS DRIVER MADE ME PUT ON THE SEAT BELT. I DON'T SEE THE POINT OF WEARING A SEATBELT ON A BUS. I KNOW IT SAFES PEOPLE LIFES, BUT ON OTHER HAND, MIDDLE AND ELEMENTRY, HIGH, BUS DRIVERS DON'T REALLY CARE. I THINK IT SHOULD BE A LAW. IF A PERSONAL DRIVER SHOULD WEAR A SEATBELT,AND EMERGECY RESPONSE CARS. I THINK STUDENTS ON THE BUS SHOULD. ITS NOT FAIR. THEY SHOULD GET A TICKET.
THE LET THEM GET UP AND WALK,
SIT SIDEWAYS ANY WAY. from pensacola by Dexter
Comment: As a parent of three childern enrolled in Okaloosa County Schools, I feel that ALL Buses should be equipped with safety belts. I feel that it should be a federal law that all children transported by buses should be buckled up. It's the law for passenger vehicles and should be so for our children while away from their parents. from Niceville, Florida by Barbara
Comment: I also think they should add them to the busses that don't have them. from Pensacola by Allison
Comment: Yes all school busses should be requiered to have seat belts and at least one adult bus monitor to ensure the seat belts are used. It is impossibe for the driver to enforce seat belt use while driving so a monitor would be required. A child would become a human missle in a front end collision or rollover without seat belts. The crash on I-10 could have resulted in many deaths if the children were not wearing seat belts. from Crestview,Fl by Roy
Comment: Could someone PLEASE explain WHY this is even a question or an issue?? I understand the need for a news agency to ask it, but OF COURSE..seat belts should have ALWAYS been required for children on buses! It is required for good reasons in cars, how much more important when transporting children!! Why has this important safety feature been ignored? (Additionally...they should be provided on all public transportation!) from Pensacola Fl by Carol
Comment: Yes, as this accident proves, all students should be seated and use the seat belts, they do save lives from pensacola, FL by georgia
Comment: Why in the world is the question even asked. Its common sense that if you have to wear you seat belt in a car you should have to wear it on a bus. They are both vehicles right? These are our children!! Make this a law! from Pensacola, FL by Etienne
Comment: a resounding YES! This accident just goes to prove how much safer our buses are when they are equipped with seatbelts. from Crestview, Florida by Judy
Comment: If a school bus flips then the children just go rolling around, however, if they are wearing seat belts, they'll be secure. Plus, it's FL law to be buckled up period. from Milton/FL by Whitney
Comment: It is a fact, seat belts save lives. We wear them in the car, and we wear them on the bus. from Fort Walton Beach, FL by Mary Beth
Comment: My firt grader rides the bus every afternoon. I beleive they should be required to wear seatbelts because the slightest accident could have the children bouncing all over the place and causing injuries that would be prevented if they were wearing the seatbelt. from Pace, Florida by Misty
Comment: Yes, I do believe Florida law should require (should have been required) all students on all school buses to wear seatbelts. Are school buses as well as the city bus not vehicles? I think they are! It's okay for the bus driver to wear a seatbelt, but not the children? This doesn't make sense to me and never has. I hope someone brings this to whom ever this may concerns attn. asap! Just because they are bus drivers doesn't mean they won't get into occasional accidents, which we pray doesn't happen. As we can see it is possible and thankfully they had a bus with seatbelts or else there would have been worse injuries. Someone please tell me whose idea it was for school buses and city buses to not have seatbelts and why? by Genea
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