Safer seat belts required on small school buses

Federal rule follows tragic deaths, but move also raises concerns

DEATSVILLE, Ala. - Smaller school buses will have to be equipped with lap-and-shoulder seat belts for the first time under a government rule drafted after the deaths of four Alabama students on a school bus that nose-dived off an overpass.

Larger buses also will have higher seat backs under the new policy, which was announced Wednesday. The design change is supposed to keep older, heavier students from being thrown over the seats in a collision.

The seat belts will only have to be installed in new buses weighing 5 tons or less, and the requirement will not take effect until 2011. These smaller school buses are already required to have lap belts, but not the safer, harness-style belts. There is no seat belt requirement for larger buses.

Read full story MSNBC

Posted by Auto Accident Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona