REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY RULES
RALEIGH, N.C.

NOVEMBER 19, 2007
9:45 A.M.

Good morning! I want to thank Principal Swaim and the students here at Morrisville Elementary School. I have enjoyed spending the morning with them – on the bus and in the classroom.

And Derek Graham (Section Chief of Transportation Services, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction), thank you so much for taking time to be here today, and for teaching us all about the A-B-C’s of school bus safety.

It is never too late to learn, especially when it comes to protecting our children. That is why I have come back to school here in Wake County. This is one of the first places in the country to study the value of placing seat belts on school buses. As part of a state demonstration program, two county buses have high seat backs and what we call “three-point” or “lap-and-shoulder” belts. They are the same seat belts that are installed in most of our cars and mini-vans.

And today, I am here to announce the first-ever federal rules for three-point seat belts on school buses, as well as upgrades to the seat backs that protect children on their rides to school. Our proposed rule will make children safer, put parents at ease, and give communities a clearer picture of how to protect students.

Even though statistics show children are safer on that big yellow school bus than they are walking to school, riding their bikes, or even riding in the family car, this community is asking how it can make the ride to and from school safer still.

We have been asking the same question at the Department of Transportation. I have always found that the best answers come not from Washington, but from people like Derek Graham and Don Hayden (Associate Superintendent, Wake County Public Schools), who are on the front lines.
So we have looked very closely at your experiences here in North Carolina, and at what other communities around the country are doing when it comes to safety on school buses.

And this past summer, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Nicole Nason brought together the nation’s leading experts in school transportation, along with the school bus and seat manufacturers. We challenged them to throw out old assumptions and take a fresh look at how best to protect children riding in school buses.

The result is the first new set of federal rules to improve school bus safety in nearly 15 years.

Our proposed rules require taller seat backs on all new school buses – from the current 20-inch height to 24 inches.

The compartmentalization provided by the closely spaced, high-backed padded design of the bus seats works well, keeping children from getting hurt in much the same way as egg cartons protect eggs.

As a mother, I know how fast our children grow and how often parents ride in the buses with their children. We need to ensure that these passengers are protected. Our research has shown that taller passengers can be thrown over today’s seats in a crash, hurting themselves and others. Under our proposal, beginning one year after these rules go in effect, seats on new school buses will be four inches higher.

Higher seat backs mean higher levels of safety for everyone on board.

Our proposed rule also addresses the issue of seat belts, on both small and large school buses.

I talked with the kids about safety in the classroom today. As young as they are, these children know “Seat belts save lives.” They are used to buckling up every time they get in the family car.

Within three years after our proposed rule takes effect, new small buses – those weighing under 10,000 pounds – will have to be equipped with three-point belts, just like new cars have been since 1968. Current rules dating back to 1977 require lap belts in these buses, which experience higher crash forces and are more prone to roll-over than the full-size buses.

For the first time, we also provide federal standards for seat belts on large buses for school districts that voluntarily make the decision to go with this added level of insurance. Creating a common set of standards eliminates guesswork and over the long-term can make seat belts more accessible, more affordable, and more available.

I truly believe this is a safety improvement that school districts ought to look at seriously. We know seat belts are a significant investment. We do not want communities to have to choose between limited funds and the safety of their children – which is why we will begin allowing states, for the first time ever, to use federal highway safety funds to cover the cost of equipping school buses with seat belts.

School buses carry precious cargo – our children, our future. Surely, we want to do everything we can to protect them.

I think every heart in America must have skipped a beat when we saw that school bus sitting on the severed remains of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis. Thanks goodness all 59 children on board were okay.

School buses are designed to protect children, and they do their job well. But any design can be improved upon. By updating the design of the old yellow school bus with new seat backs and seat belts, we are taking a step forward in safeguarding America’s future.

Thank you. And now, I would be happy to answer your questions.

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