The use of seat belts on large school buses is an issue that has been thoroughly studied and debated for many years. Most parents, who insist their children wear seat belts in the family automobile, naturally think their child's school bus should be equipped with seat belts too. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. Studies conducted since 1969 by the national Transportation Safety Board, the National Academy of Sciences, Transport Canada and others have repeatedly concluded that compartmentalization provides better protection to passengers of large school buses than to two-point lap belts. Some have likened compartmentalization to an egg crate - the children, like the eggs, will move in a confined space but are generally protected from impacts by padded seating and construction.
Statistics prove that school buses are about thirty times safer than traveling in a passenger car.