Students are sitting on the bus, the yellow machine jumps up and down after hitting every little bump on
the road. Suddenly, a car honks as the driver nearly crashes into the bus at high speeds. Luckily the bus
driver was able to swerve out of the way just in time, the students are ok, but some are shaken.

When students ride the school bus, most never really think about how safe it really is. They put their lives
and safety in the hands of the bus driver.

“I’ve never thought about bus safety,” junior student Lukas Haertig said. “Because I think that when
drivers see a school bus, they slow down or give it space because they know that children are in it.”

the National Highway Traffic Safety administration did a study that showed that more than thirty
thousand people die of car accidents every year. Likewise, only six students die as passengers on a school
bus annually.

“When a car or truck hits a bus while it’s driving,” bus driver Rámon Hernández explained. “The
cushioned seats are usually reliable enough to prevent any serious injuries.”

On the contrary, seat belt advocates say current safety measures are not enough. The National Coalition for
School Bus Safety says the study that the government cites for its data is dated and inadequate. For one
thing, seven out of ten real world accidents are not frontal, according to the coalition. And when it comes
to side impacts, the NCSBS says bus cushions are less effective, and that seat belts are essential to saving
lives.

“I think that school buses should have seat belts,” senior student Joshua Gunnyson said. “If the bus gets
into a crash, then everyone will be sent flying and hit their heads on the roof.”