Officials: school buses are seven times safer than cars

A Missouri girl remains in the hospital Tuesday night with serious injuries after a school bus crash near Kansas City. Thirteen others suffered minor injuries near Lee’s Summit West High School Monday.

ABC 17 News took a look at how safe school buses are, learning they are seven times safer than other vehicles according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Cara Douglas has been driving school buses in Harrisburg for seventeen years and told ABC 17 News of all cars she has driven, feels the safest in her bus.

“They have a lot of reinforcement that makes them very strong, they take an impact very well,” said Douglas.

While the force one would feel in a crash in a school bus is less than a car, most buses do not have seat belts.

“We sit seat to seat, back to back, where you are in your safe space where if you were to have an accident you hit the seat in front of you,” said Douglas.

The seats are cushioned for added safety and a reason school buses are not required to have seat belts.

ABC 17 News asked Douglas if she thinks seat belts would keep kids safer on buses.

“No, I don’t necessarily think they would. I guess they may help in rollover accident, but for the most part they can become weapons on a school bus because kids can hit each other with the buckles,” said Douglas.

For the preschool students there are seats with buckles added.

The federal government allows states and districts to set the rules when it comes to seat belts on buses.

School buses in Missouri are inspected annually by Highway Patrol.

Currently the state does not require buses to have seat belts.

In June ABC 17 News reported Jefferson City buses got a 90% approval rating with no buses failing inspection.

Columbia Public Schools had 8 buses fail inspection.