On examination, however, the main factors are safety and expense. I leave for you to decide. Their ungainly appearance might suggest otherwise, but school buses are actually pretty safe. On average only 11 children are killed in school bus wrecks each year, compared to the 5,500 who die in accidents involving other vehicles. Several factors account for the good record.
School buses are taller and heavier than most other traffic and generally travel at moderate speeds.
In a collision, high seat backs prevent kids from being thrown great distances, and impact-absorbing materials soften the blow. The question remains controversial, however. High seat backs don't help much when a bus is hit from the side or rolls over, and some people think more should be done. The national Parent-Teacher Association, for example, has called for seat belts on new buses. The federal government recently began a two-year investigation of school bus safety that will likely result in new precautions.