Later this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will meet in Washington, D.C. to discuss the issue of installing three-point seat belts on school buses. The meeting will also be webcast so the public can observe.
The group will hold an informal meeting on July 23 to assess the current status of occupant protection technology on buses, specifically hoping to identify operational challenges and develop new approaches to improve funding.
According to School Transportation News, the discussion will also cover the issue of seating capacity loss, one of the biggest issues preventing states and school districts from implementing three-point seat belts in buses.
The NHTSA has also invited the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to present findings and recommendations from investigations of past school bus crashes.
Representatives from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) will also be present to offer further details into the issue by sharing key points from a February 2014 NASDPTS paper titled, “The Equipping and Use of Passenger Lap/Shoulder Belts in School Buses.”
“We are excited about what we may learn from this important meeting,” said Charlie Hood, executive director of the NASDPTS.
The meeting will be webcast at www.nhtsa.gov from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Thursday, July 23, 2015.
