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Seat belts in school buses are once again a hot topic, thanks to Congressman Steve Cohen and Senator Tammy Duckworth reintroducing the School Bus Safety Act. The act would mandate seat belts - as well as a variety of other student safety gear - in school buses of all sizes.
This is actually part of a very old debate, which has been going on for over a century - how effective are seat belts, and when/how should they be required? The history of seat belts is actually more complicated than many people realize!
The Early Days of Seat Belts
Devices resembling modern seat belts date back to the mid-19th century.
English inventor George Cayley is typically credited as designing the first seat belt, in 1855. Cayley is much more commonly known as "the father of aviation," and developed many of the principles of aerodynamics that would then lead to the Wright Bros' historic powered flight in 1903. Designing a seat belt to help pilots stay in early experimental gliders was more of a side project that happened to pay off down the line.
Meanwhile, the first patent for a seat belt in land-based vehicles was granted in 1885 to American Edward J. Claghorn. His belt was a very simple lap-belt setup, more akin to safety harnesses used by people such as lumberjacks to stick to trees. Never the less, at the dawn of automotive travel, people were already thinking about driver and passenger safety.
Afterwards, lap belts would appear on cars from time to time, but even into the 1930s-40s, they weren't particularly common. This changed in 1959, when Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the modern three-point seat belt for Volvo. Volvo, to their credit, recognized how many lives their belt could save, and made the patent public domain - openly encouraging other car manufacturers to use the design.
Volvo were also pioneers in crash safety testing, popularizing the "crash test dummy" system which demonstrated the effectiveness of their belts and is still in use today.
Seat Belts Become Regulated
Following Volvo's lead, other manufacturers did sporadically begin integrating three-point belts into their designs. Governments noticed the safety benefits, and began issuing laws.
Wisconsin was the first state to mandate seat belt installation in cars, in 1961. A few other states followed, and then the US government mandated belts in all road vehicles (except buses) in 1968. However, the mandate was only to install the belts. Nothing said that motorists actually had to use them. Those regulations were left to the states.
Over two decades passed before the first state, New York, actually mandated belt usage in 1984 - under heavy opposition from people who felt it infringed on their rights. Other states slowly followed suit, but it wouldn't be until the mid-90s that belt usage was mandated from coast to coast.
All the while, large buses have largely been exempt from these laws. Currently, in 2024, only nine states require belts to be installed on buses, and few of those actually enforce usage.
Will this new attempt at the School Bus Safety Act change that, and see belts put on all buses across the country? It remains to be seen.
A Turbulent Debate
Whether seat belts will truly improve student safety is a complicated topic with a lot of factors. Will they do more good than harm? Would the high costs be justified, or could the money be put to better use in other areas of student safety?
BusBoss will continue to track the topic and keep reporting!
Until then, if you want to make your own bus system safer and more effective, BusBoss has years of experience! Contact us to learn more about our services.
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