My latest post is up at DotMoms today.
Last month, my 4-year-old son went on his first field trip, with his preschool, to a farm 30 minutes away. How exciting! His first school bus ride.
My enthusiasm fell into uneasiness, though, when I remembered: Massachusetts school buses don’t have seat belts. Picturing the little boy I’d strapped in to his car seat a billion times whizzing down the highway freestyle on a bench seat, I seriously considered driving him myself and meeting the class at the farm. In the end, John took the bus and lived, and I chastised myself for being overprotective ...
12 comments:
In Texas our school busses do not have seat belts either. It made me nervous, too, and actually still does a little when my daughter rides on a school bus. It does always turn out fine though.
At my daughters old preschool though, they didn't have a bus. They let parent volunteers drive the children on the field trips, which I always thought was a huge liability. All parents who were driving children had to have a background check and proof of insurance, etc. I was always one who drove though, not trusting anyone else to drive my child. I never understood how parents could send their kids to school, knowing they would be getting into a car with someone they may or may not know. The one time I couldn't go on a field trip my daughter didn't go either. I'm a little overprotective myself!
I've never understood that- the no seat beat thing. On our bus (high school) they cram the kids in 3 to a seat and when H. started telling me that sometimes the driver let kids sit on the FLOOR I stopped letting her ride altogether. cause, WHAT?
Crazy!
My kids don't ride the bus as we drop them off, so I guess I never thought about that. The preschoolers at the school I work for have seat belts and even booster seats, so I guess they all did. Lack of seat belts would make me nervous as well. Thankfully, most bus drivers are VERY good at what they do and understand how precious there cargo is to so many.
I've actually never seen a bus with seatbelts. But then, I'm from the south, where they still use newspaper for toilet paper. (Kidding, but still...)
Off to read your Dot Moms post now!
it's good to hear someone else express the same concern I have for years now. I too, considered driving my children for their field trips for that reason. AND, I drive my children to and from school so they don't have to ride a bus. Paranoid and overprotective? Maybe. But it makes me feel better.
I've heard all of the reasons against school bus seat belts, but it just doesn't make sense to me.
If I put a four year old in my car with no seat belt on it would be illegal. People who found out would yell at me and say nasty things about how I was probably drunk and didn't care about my kid.
But if it is a school bus suddenly they have this special force-field around them that protects them from flying through the air and possibly crashing through a window--I'm just not buying it!!
I don't think school buses were designed with little kids (and four is still pretty little) in mind. Bigger kids and adults, I think, may be harmed by seat belts in certain accidents, unless they include better seat belts than just a lap belt (even my minvan has a shoulder belt at every seat, even the middle of the rear)
In Texas, after a number of accidents involving those big 'fifteen passenger' vans that many schools and day cares use, they now will not sell you a van for school transportation, you have to buy a proper "bus," even if it's a small one, since they are built differently. I'm not an auto engineer, but this seems like a step in the right direction.
I share your concern for a small child (and the message it gives them - 'but we didn't wear seat belts on the bus!')
I know how you feel! I had to put Lillianna on the school bus for kindergarten and I was ill over the no seat belt thing.
A few months ago,one of her friends had a sleep over birthday party which started with a limo ride from the house to Papa Gino's and then back to the house for the sleep over. I was in a panic. Are there seat belts in limos???????
I spoke to the mom and she said she wasn't sure about the seat belts. I had a tough decision to make. A limo is just a long CAR!
In the end,I took a deep breath,said a prayer and let her go. As it turned out,there were seat belts and Lillianna was the only 8 year old to buckle up. It was actually HER choice. The birthday girl's 3 year old twin siblings were not buckled!
Lillianna took a little teasing about the seat belt but she didn't care. She explained to me,"I just felt safer with my seat belt on!"
Thank G-d!!!!!!!
The mom thought I was a little overprotective but I didn't care one little bit!!
By the way,your DotMoms link goes to today's post not your post about seat belts from the 14th. I didn't know if you knew that or not.
I totally know what you mean! Ryan starts kindergarten this year and though he technically can go without a carseat now he seems so little to be just "floating" around this large vehicle with less than safe seating.
If nothing else, how do you explain to your child that even though they never have to wear a seatbelt going to school, when they get in your vehicle they HAVE to wear a seatbelt or mommy could get a ticket??
For now, the "Because Im the mommy, that's why" excuse works, but really...shouldnt all rules apply to all vehicles??
I found an interesting article on the subject here.
The gist of it is:
1. School buses are generally very safe.
2. Adding seatbelts to buses would not make them safer.
3. It would cost a lot of money to do so.
What is wrong with this country. I personally don't plan on forcing my 5 year old child to use a boaster seat. I'll take my chances that i won't get caught but i think it's rediculous that i am expected to have a boaster seat for each of my childs firends in order for them to safely ride in my car. Most of us grew up barly wearing a seatbelt what's the big deal. The reason there are no safty belts on children's school buses is that the state plays the odds. It is cheaper to pay the victim of a fatality then to prevent it. Speaking from the perspective of an engineer i can tell you that most all of the buses used by public schools are not much different then the ones we had when we were kinds. only now the bus driver sometimes has airbags. God help the bus driver that kills my kid and lives because of his airbag. Therefore i personally do not plan on obeying state boaster seat laws until they are madated to state vehicles also!
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