Other occupants were ejected through the windows sustaining critical and fatal injuries. On the other hand fewer belt-induced injuries can be expected to the abdomen of children using properly adjusted seat belts on firm school bus seats, as compared with the softer seats in passenger cars, because of better belt fit and the reduced potential for submarining. After 22 years of experience with seat belts installed on all sizes of school buses, restraining all sizes of occupants, there should be ample documentation of seat belts causing abdominal injuries by now. The same argument can be made for head and neck injury. If the jackknifing of the passenger by the belt were going to cause serious injuries there would be documentation of those injuries in small buses where the crash pulses are greater.
Seat belts are relatively inexpensive compared to medical fees endured by unrestrained occupants.
Liability Reduce school districts exposure to liability by reducing the number of injuries on the school bus. Where a school board can show that it has adopted policies and implemented practices which enhance school bus safety through seat belt installation, education and enforcement policies, the liability of the school district is reduced, if not eliminated. In Minnesota, the average number of school bus crashes per year from 1991 through 1995 was 842 . There were 961 school bus crashes in 1997, the second highest number ever recorded. Though there were 961 school bus crashes in 1997, a few involved more than one school bus.