Most drivers think seat belts on buses pose a significant safety hazard. First, a seat belt can be a deadly weapon. The buckle can be used to strike another person. The belt itself can be used to choke someone. Second, in the event of an accident, seat belts can trap students on board.
Fires can engulf buses in flames and smoke in roughly three minutes.
The delay in unbuckling a jammed seat belt could be the difference between life and death. Not only could small fingers have problems unbuckling in an emergency, but dangling seat belts could become a danger to exiting students, causing them to trip. Third, it would be nearly impossible for bus drivers to make sure that all students are buckled up properly at all times. The special needs students on the bus I drive now wear their seat belts so loosely that, in the event of an accident, the kids would slide out, and the seat belts would wind up around their necks. Right now, school buses are the safest form of transportation on the road.