School Bus Restraints Issue Heats Up After CNN Follow-Up
A month or so ago, on CNN's Sunday night "IMPACT" show, the Network disclosed to many that there were only two states in the U.S.—New York and New Jersey—that required seat restraints on school buses. This is despite the fact that the Federal Government mandates seat belts in every private passenger vehicle, and virtually every state now has "buckle up" laws requiring seat belts to be used by drivers and passengers alike. CNN also claimed that according to National Safety Council statistics, there was a 94% increase in injuries to school bus passengers in the 12-year period from 1985-1996.
Following CNN's story, Tom Johnson, president of Cable News Network, received a lengthy letter, signed jointly by Karen E. Finkel, executive director of the National School Transportation Association, Charles E. Gauthier, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services and Michael J. Martin, executive director of the National Association for Pupil Transportation.
The trio offered a "white paper" with school bus injury and fatality figures quite different from those presented on the program. They cited statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which showed no injury increase. They argued that CNN had not really done its homework and that the network should not have aired the piece without consulting their organizations.
Apart from any private correspondence which may have been exchanged thereafter, CNN/Time then followed the story up on another Sunday night show (Newsstand), with the assertion that certain strong lobbying organizations—school bus makers and school bus operators—were attempting to confuse the issue in order to maintain status quo, namely school buses with only "seat compartmentalization" as a safety measure for students.
The CNN program included a segment filmed by an automatic camera on a bus that was in an accident. The children were seen literally "flying" through the vehicle which rolled over, causing, among other injuries, permanent paralysis of one of the students on board.
CNN also asserted that insurance claims show school buses had a higher accident rate than automobiles that resulted in injuries, according to 1996 data by <%=company%> (ISO).
CNN noted that there were 1.758 school bus bodily injury claims per 100 vehicles compared to 1.39 claims for private passenger automobiles.
Immediately following the original CNN program, National Insurance News Service (NINS), on behalf of PropertyAndCasualty.com, interviewed Don Jenkins, CEO of Mass Transit Safety (MTS), the manufacturer of R-BAR, an alternate seat restraint system, designed specifically and exclusively for school buses, which conforms to all federal regulations, including Department of Transportation (DOT) Regulation 222.
Jenkins, whose company is headquartered in Syracuse, NY, was quoted extensively in our initial two-part report on the subject (April 13 and April 30, 1998). Jenkins was in total agreement with CNN's report, and considered their use of accident statistics provided by the National Safety Council to be perfectly appropriate and valid.
Following this latest program, Jenkins was contacted again and again he agreed with CNN/Time's assertions. He also reports that based on the same National Safety Council statistics used by CNN, he was in personal contact with a major insurance company, which he declined to name. This insurer provides school bus insurance, as well as coverage for municipalities, many of which are obliged to insure all municipal vehicles, including school buses in their districts.
"We asked a top executive of this insurance company, as well as their person in charge of loss control, whether this insurer would consider providing a discount on liability insurance for school districts whose buses were equipped with R-BARS. Their response, which is now under official review, was very enthusiastic.
"It seems to me that everyone with a stake in school bus transportation—with the exception of the lobbyists—is coming to the very logical conclusion that a continuation of the no-seat-restraint requirements of 48 states is simply unacceptable," Jenkins continues. He points out that in New York and New Jersey, only "lap belts" are installed, unlike the 3-point harness in private passenger cars, and he asserts that they are simply inadequate in protecting a child's head from serious injury in many collisions.
"Even in low impact crashes our lab tests prove that lap belts "give" so much that a child's skull can easily be fractured as it whips forward and hits the seat in front. On the other hand, the R-BAR, which is anchored to the seat in front, upon impact forces that seat forward from five to fourteen inches, while shifting downward and backward to hold the child in position in the seat," he claims. And just to provide an extra measure of protection, when we retro-fit a school bus, we add padding to the seat backs to further mitigate impact."
CNN/Time has not announced its plans for future broadcasts, but it seems certain that they recognize they are on to something that is likely to resonate, particularly with parents and school board members. From an insurance standpoint, one cannot help wondering, with these public warnings, if a school board refuses to demand safety restraints, or rejects an initiative to retro-fit their buses, might they not be vulnerable to an Errors & Omissions lawsuit or worse in the event of a serious or fatal accident?
(Exclusive to PropertyandCasualty.com from National Insurance News Service)
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