By not standardizing this safety device decades ago, seat belts installed on school buses were long considered a curiosity, novelty, deluxe, or custom safety device only rich school districts could afford. Had these safety devices been standard equipment they would

COVINGTON, Ga. –

Fewer dollars for school bus seat belts

Program to save lives was unfunded to save money

May 13, 2012

Click here to view the story from School Transportation News Magazine

Five students were taken to hospitals with minor injuries after their Dixon Unified School District bus overturned as the driver tried to pass a farm tractor near Dixon this morning, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

Both the tractor and the school bus were heading east on Hackman Road near Runge Road when the accident happened around 7:25 a.m., CHP Officer Chris Parker said.

By Ashley Halsey III, Published: August 25
As almost a half-million school buses this week began the annual ritual that will take them an estimated 4.2 billion miles by the time school lets out next spring, federal authorities have concluded that equipping them with seat belts is an unnecessary expense.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rejected a petition by safety advocates who sought a federal mandate to require school bus seat belts.