I am not going to elaborate on our two and three-point restraint systems other than to mention that our systems have met or exceeded all federal motor vehicle safety standards in independent testing. Most people are familiar with the increase in safety from the use of seat belts. They don't have to wear them on their school buses and often that behavior carries over to when they get their own cars. The arguments against seatbelts on school buses defy logic. Our nations buses rely on compartmentalization, which and ONLY during a frontal or rear impact the seat backs absorb the crash forces of the body.
Compartmentalization offers no protection or safety from a side or rollover accident.
Unfortunately you can't buy a car today without belts and you can't operate one without using them either, so you can't try this theory out in practice, unless of course you're a student. The most popular argument is the cost of these restraints, which was also popular over 30 years ago when the auto industry claimed they weren't needed. Another argument is the increase in egress times during the tragic event of a fire or submersion. What you may be unaware of is that a large bus sinks in less than 30 seconds, and the gas tanks have been regulated and encased to prevent rupture. In the Michigan STAR IT study a trained police diver could not escape the bus in the submersion tests because of the thousands of gallons of water that came in during those 30 seconds.