# Presentation: 192953

## NHTSA Seat Belts on School BusesPublic Meeting

- Deborah A. P. Hersman
- Member
- July 11, 2007

## NTSB’s Role in Highway Safety

- Independent Federal Agency
- 5 Member Board
- President appointed
- Senate confirmed
- 400 Staff (29 in Highway)
- Investigates accidents in all modes of transportation
- Determine probable cause
- Issue recommendations

**Notes:**
The NTSB is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress to investigate accidents in all modes of transportation.   In our investigations, we determine the probable cause and issue recommendations to other government agencies, industry, and advocacy groups to improve safety and help prevent a recurrence of that type of accident.  In highway accidents, the NTSB conducts comprehensive investigations in which we seek out, and usually find, root causes that may not be readily apparent from the more cursory investigations conducted by State and local law enforcement agencies. 
In selecting highway accidents to investigate, we look for issues with national significance that other highway safety organizations have not addressed.  The NTSB has no regulatory authority, so we cannot implement a change directly, although we can be the catalyst for safety improvements.

## School Bus Safety

- Safety Board sees some of the most dramatic and, unfortunately, fatal accidents.
- Side impacts with other large vehicles, tractor-trailer or train, or
- Fixed object or severe rollover

**Notes:**
The NTSB investigates some of the most dramatic and, usually fatal, school bus accidents.  They typically involve severe rollovers or side impacts with other large vehicles, trains, or fixed objects.

## 1987 Crashworthiness of Large Post- Standard School Buses

**1999 Bus Crashworthiness Issues**

**Notes:**
In 2 comprehensive reviews of school bus crashworthiness, one in 1987 and another in 1999, the NTSB found that school bus passengers who remain within the compartment are less likely to be injured.  

## Crashworthiness Findings

- School bus passengers that _remained within the compartment_ were less likely to be injured
- Current compartmentalization is incomplete in that it does not protect passengers in _lateral impacts and rollovers_

**Notes:**
However, compartmentalization does not always protect passengers in rollovers or in lateral impacts with vehicles of large mass.  During these types of accidents, passengers may be ejected or come in contact with other passengers, the sidewalls, the windows, or the edges of adjacent seats -- all surfaces that are not designed to absorb impact energy.  However, given the available data, the Board cannot determine whether the current designs of available restraint systems for large school buses would necessarily reduce the risk of injury.

## Monticello, MN 

**Notes:**
Monticello, MN
In 1997, the NTSB investigated an accident near Monticello, Minnesota in which a tractor-trailer going about 49 mph struck the side of a school bus going about 45 mph at an intersection. 

## Monticello, MN (animation)

**Notes:**
Monticello, MN (animation=1,418 KB:  MonticelloSlow)
The bus was occupied by a lap-belted driver and 13 passengers, ages 6 to 11. Watch closely the lateral movement of the school bus as it side-slaps the side of the tractor-trailer in a secondary impact.
The truck driver and 3 school bus passengers seated in the left rear of the bus were fatally injured.  Additionally, the school bus driver and 10 passengers sustained injuries. 

## Monticello, MN(animation)

**Notes:**
Monticello, MN (animation=1,266 KB:  Monticello3pb_ind)
This simulation displays the lap/shoulder belted occupant kinematics for the 6 occupants located in the last 3 rows of the school bus. (Remember the side-slap). 

## Monticello, MN

- 3

- 4

- 5

**Notes:**
Monticello, MN (slide)
Head injuries were predicted for 5 of the simulated occupants in each of the 3 restraint conditions: unrestrained, lap belt restrained, and lap/shoulder belt restrained. The yellow X indicates the occupant predicted to sustain a head injury. 
This accident illustrates the complex nature of occupant protection. 

## Holmdel, NJ

**Notes:**
Holmdel, NJ (animation)
In this accident, a 54-passenger school bus collided with a dump truck at an intersection in Holmdel, New Jersey. The bus was occupied by an unrestrained driver and 6 passengers, ages 7 to 16. The school bus was going about 21 mph and the fully loaded dump truck was traveling at about 39 mph at impact.
The front of the truck contacted the left side of the school bus at the left front tire. Watch for the secondary impact between the left side of the bus and the right side of the truck. 

## Holmdel, NJ

**Notes:**
Holmdel, NJ (animation=655 KB:  HolmdelDynamicsView)
The bus driver and all 6 passengers sustained injuries. The passenger seats in the school bus were not equipped with seat belts. 

## Holmdel, NJ (animation)

**Notes:**
Holmdel, NJ (animation=559 KB:  holmdel3pb)
This simulation shows the occupant kinematics for the 4 occupants located in the first 2 rows of the bus had they been wearing lap/shoulder belts. 

## Holmdel, NJ

**Notes:**
Holmdel, NJ
This slide illustrates the predicted head injuries in the simulation for each of the 3 restraint conditions. The yellow “X” indicates the occupant predicted to sustain a head injury. 

## Crashworthiness Recommendations to NHTSA

- Develop crashworthiness performance standards and require newly manufactured school buses to have an occupant crash protection system that _retains passengers within the seating compartment_ throughout the accident sequence for all accident scenarios.

**Notes:**
In 1999, the Board asked NHTSA to:
Develop occupant protection performance standards specific to large school buses, addressing frontal impacts, side impacts, rear impacts, and rollovers, and
Ensure that all new occupant protection systems on large school buses meet this minimum level of protection.

## School Bus Crashworthiness Added to Most Wanted List in Nov. 2006

**Notes:**
Last November, the Safety Board elevated this issue to our Most Wanted List of Safety Improvements.

## www.ntsb.gov

**Notes:**
In summary, the board acknowledges the difficulties in developing a system that will protect children of all ages in most crash scenarios on school buses. However, since we continue to see crashes where children are fatally injured, we will continue to push for improvements. 
Thank you for your attention and dedication to highway safety.