Education on Proper Use of Safety Belts on School Buses

The current project seeks to understand the decisions that states and local agencies use when deciding to require and implement seat belts on school buses and the funding mechanisms that are used to pay for seat belt installation. To accomplish this, NHTSA proposes conducting discussions and informal interviews with school districts that have seat belts on buses, as well as those who decided not to implement or who are struggling to implement, in order to identify components that influence seat belt acquisition and use. From there, Model Policy and Best Practices guide will be developed to assist jurisdictions that are considering a requirement regarding seat belts on school buses. Finally, the project will also obtain data related to the role of distraction and whether seat belts aid in managing behavior on school buses. The project will culminate with a final report to explain the results and outcomes from the project’s activities. Responses to this collection are strictly voluntary, however responses are necessary in order to identify challenges and best practices regarding seat belt implementation and funding. The expected responding entities include school district representatives who have agreed to participate in the interviews, as well as any bus drivers from those participating districts who are willing to complete the online survey. The collection of information will occur as needed over the course of approximately 9 months. The findings of the interviews and surveys will be maintained in projects records, however any personally identifiable information (e.g. names) will be kept separate from the survey data. Findings will be reported in the form of a Model Policy and Best Practices Guide, as well as a final project report. These would include any relevant feedback from participants such as common and best practices, as well as challenges and lessons learned. Reports resulting from this research will not identify any individuals by name. School districts may be identified, but only if permission is given to NHTSA by the school district. NHTSA will receive the final project report and the Model Policy and Best Practices Guide, which will ultimately be made available to the general public as well.

The latest form for Education on Proper Use of Safety Belts on School Buses expires 2022-06-30 and can be found here.

Education on Proper Use of Safety Belts on School Buses

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Transportation - Ground Transportation

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