An interview with Molly McGee-Hewitt:
What can you tell us about the new NAPT statement on seat belts?
Our new statement, which was recommended by the members of our Public Policy Committee and adopted unanimously by our Board, relies on our belief that our members must be empowered and enabled to make decisions that meet the needs and priorities of their communities and schools.
The new statement does not take an official position on the overall viability or efficacy of seat belts, but it does clarify (1) we’d recommend that districts considering the installation of seat belts purchase only three-point lap-and-shoulder belts and (2) we believe that lap belts are insufficient for safety purposes. We cannot definitively address the question of viability or efficacy as an industry association, but we can offer members our reasonable judgment based on information available to us.
The statement draws upon the work that the NTSB has conducted subsequent to several school bus fatality accidents. NTSB has strongly recommended that the industry install and properly use seat belts (lap-shoulder belts) on school buses. They have demonstrated through their accident re-creations that lives were lost in the absence of seat belts, and that lives would have been saved and injuries prevented if seat belts had been in place.
We felt that we could not ignore those findings and recommendations any longer. Our position had been that we wanted to rely on science. In all other aspects of transportation safety, NTSB’s word is the gold standard.
What does the statement say?
The new statement:
• Accepts as valid and important the findings and recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board related to the efficacy of seat belts in the fatality accidents they have investigated. The specific wording of the statement is that we “are aligning NAPT with the numerous findings and recommendations from the NTSB suggesting that the use of lap-shoulder belts would increase safety on school buses and would have prevented fatalities in cases investigated by NTSB.”
• Recognizes that serious work remains to be done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) around testing in the event of side impact crashes, water events or thermal (or fire) events. But we determined that such additional research and testing should not preclude a statement that accepts the safety benefits evidenced by and recommendations made by NTSB.
• Asks our members to consider their current stance on seat belts for school buses in light of expansive information gleaned from NTSB reports, new technological developments, the experiences of other districts, as well as other research and developments in the industry.
• Recognizes that there are operational issues to consider, many of which should be addressed with school attorneys and insurers to bring policies and practices in line with the reality that the school buses now have lap-shoulder belts installed. This could include issues such as developing school policies related to mandatory use of belts as well as liability for school bus drivers in the event a child does not buckle up or uses the belt inappropriately.
• Calls on all of us at NAPT to work with our partner associations and federal agencies to advance this message and to support local efforts related to seat belts.
It’s important to note that, over time, our industry’s institutional response to the words “seat belts” was a resounding and reflexive “NO!”. The Board of Directors, in adopting this statement, is saying to our members: “maybe it’s not so simple as that.”
We believe in the principle that local school leaders are capable of and ready to make sound and practical decisions for the benefit of their students and families. In the case of seat belts for school buses, which is historically divisive, our association having a ‘pro’ or ‘con’ position doesn’t make that much of a difference to our members. Our role would be to encourage them to review their beliefs and decisions and to determine if those are still the best for their children.
We think that many will reconsider and will look to install seat belts on their school buses. But time and experience will tell.
“This case is a gut-wrenching reminder that failure to act on our recommendations can lead to unimaginable – and preventable – tragedy. School buses are often praised for their safety record, but we’ve become complacent. Children’s lives are at stake. The time to act is now.”
(Excerpt from press statement by NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy relating to school bus fatality crash in Decatur TN.)
How is this statement different from earlier NAPT positions?
We are trying to send the message to our members and the public that NAPT is not opposed to lap-shoulder belts on school buses. Despite our earlier statements on the matter, the perception seemed to persist that NAPT opposed belts. We never said that. What we argued was that the federal government had failed to do its job in terms of research and testing to determine the safety of belts definitively and that we could not advise our members to use something that did not unequivocally increase safety for our children.
In this statement, we present an opportunity for our members to engage with the question of whether to install belts and to reflect on the incredible work of the NTSB in calling our attention to a serious safety matter.
Nonetheless, we still are holding NHTSA to account over their not having done a complete and useful battery of tests to demonstrate overall safety. We will advocate on this issue until we reach an acceptable outcome.
What affected your thinking on this issue?
Children and our responsibility to ensure their safety. With that as our North Star, it was important for us to re-evaluate what message we were sending to our members and to parents who entrust their precious children with us.
We have focused for many years on fatalities caused by school buses. In any other transportation safety arena, repeated recommendations from NTSB would have demanded action and improvements. In this case, nothing has been done by either NHTSA or the school bus industry.
What will this mean to NAPT members?
NAPT members won’t need to explain our position to their schools any longer. We have accepted that idea that lap-shoulder belts make school buses even safer for our children. Our members can share that with their leadership who are entrusted with making decisions that affect the safety and well-being of their students.
It will also mean that NAPT will begin to more actively include workshops and educational opportunities for members about seat belts, particularly sharing information on how their colleagues in other districts have incorporated seat belts and how effective those efforts have been.
Our statement directs NAPT to include such educational opportunities, including at conferences, regional meetings, and state association meetings. We will also bring the issue out to national education associations such as AASA, ASBO, PTA, School Boards and others through articles in their newsletters as well as workshops at their conferences.
Does this change NAPT’s stance regarding NHTSA and testing?
Not a bit. For years, NAPT has called on NHTSA to conduct more extensive testing on seat belt usage. They are, after all, the agency that all eyes turn to for regulations regarding vehicle standards and safety. The fact that they have not conducted tests related to roll-overs and events involving thermal events and water events strikes us as a seriously missed opportunity.
Many of our members have wanted to consider seat belts but looked to NHTSA for science-based and researched data and useable information. They have been left waiting all these years. When NHTSA promulgated seat belt regulations in 2011, they mandated their use on smaller buses (under 10,000 pounds) but failed to mandate seat belts for larger school buses. It was – and still is — unclear why they took that route (we suspected the cost of the belts was an obstacle to their making that decision) but their lack of action put our industry in a difficult position.
Have you shared this statement with NHTSA and other decision-makers and with our partner associations?
We have shared this statement with our partner associations at NASDPTS and NSTA along with our state association affiliates. We have also shared them via email with the relevant federal agencies and will meet with them over the spring months as they transition to new leadership.
We will also bring the statement to other national education associations like the superintendents, school business officials, and the PTA. This kind of sharing will give our members a basis for support back in their districts.
What do you hope will be the longer-term effects of this statement?
It’s simple really.
Our association’s mission statement says: A world where every student has access to safe and efficient transportation.
Our vision statement says: Empowering and supporting the pupil transportation profession by providing communication, leadership, education, advocacy, and resources.
Issuing this statement and implementing the activities that bring it to life will advance our mission and focus sharply on our vision of being a source of information, support and advocacy for the professionals who keep our children safe.