HIGH POINT, N.C. — When classes begin for students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, buses will travel more than 110,000 miles every single day. Channel 9 visited an assembly plant in High Point to look at how one of the country’s biggest bus builders works on prioritizing safety.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says school buses are one of the safest transportation options for children, accounting for less than one percent of all traffic fatalities nationwide. But unfortunately, there are always exceptions.
In April, a 13-year-old boy tragically died in a school bus crash on Interstate 77 in Chester County after a trip to Carowinds. It was a devastating reminder that although low, fatal and severe injuries are rarely zero.
Channel 9’s Mark Taylor took those concerns about 70 miles northeast of Charlotte to a 275,000-square-foot facility to discuss safety and innovation at Thomas Built, North America’s leading school bus manufacturer.
“Everything we build around the bus will attach to this floor so it’s important we start with a solid foundation,” said Kendra Eads, vice president of engineering at Thomas Built. “With the perforated ceilings, that noise just goes up into the insulation in the roof and makes for a much, much quieter bus.”
Eads says every rivet, bolt and panel is “purposefully placed to ensure the safety of children in the event of a crash.”
But when it comes to school bus safety, there’s one feature that’s been debated for decades: seat belts. Lawmakers have once again introduced a bill that would require them on all school buses nationwide, but are they needed?
“A lot of government studies looking at safety between belted and non-belted school buses, and they’ve had a hard time actually showing a statistical difference,” Eads said.
There are several reasons for this. Making sure children are buckled up and stay in their seatbelts requires more attention than one bus driver can provide. If an accident does happen, being able to unbuckle them quickly would be crucial.
Thomas Built says seat design and construction in school buses actually plays a vital role in the absence of seatbelts.
“If there was to be an accident, they would be caught like a catcher’s mitt by the seat in front of them. And then the seat back behind them comes over the top and creates a little capsule,” Eads said.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation says there were 182 school bus crashes in Mecklenburg County last year, resulting in 126 injuries. While all of them survived, walking away from a school bus crash is never guaranteed. But we can take comfort in knowing that every day when our children board the bus, safety and innovation is at the forefront of what keeps our most precious cargo safe.
“Making sure that no matter what, they’re getting to school safely -- that just feels great,” Eads said.
The push for installing seat belts on buses is part of the School Bus Safety Act. The legislation would also require data recorders on buses, similar to black boxes on airplanes, and systems to stop engine fires.
(VIDEO: ‘Make a seat’: Transit plan includes funding for bus stop improvements)
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