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St. Marys City Schools Director of Transportation Nick Hagar explains how to use one of four emergency exit doors on a school bus.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has established a task force to examine school bus safety in Ohio, including the use of lap-and-shoulder seat belts.
DeWine's move comes after a school bus collision in Springfield late last month claimed the life of an elementary school student.
A minivan collided with a Northwestern Local Schools bus headed to the first day of school on State Route 41 on Aug. 22, killing one student and injuring dozens more. The driver, Hermanio Joseph, 35, is facing criminal charges.
Just eight of 50 states are required to furnish their school buses with seat belts, and Ohio is not one of them. St. Marys and Celina school districts, though, have a couple of lap-and-shoulder seat belts installed on buses for younger students and those on individualized educational plans.
Lap-and-shoulder seat belts have been installed on buses in St. Marys and Celina school districts for younger students and those on individualized educational plans.
St. Marys City Schools Director of Transportation Nick Hager said school buses are definitely one of, if not the safest vehicles on the road.
"They are made extremely sturdy," he said. "The chassis are all reinforced, as far as how it's constructed."
Each school bus seat has its own compartment with padded seats in front and back of the student, which Hager said is good for protecting during forward and backward collisions.
Some may cite the recent rollover crash in Springfield as reason for equipping Ohio buses with seat belts, but Celina City Schools Transportation Supervisor Greg Amspaugh said it's not that simple.
"How many things had to come in line for that little one to be ejected through an open window because it was hot out?" he said. "The odds are staggering of that ever happening. Would a seat belt help in that instance? In that instance, yes. They've been talking about seat belts since I've been doing this, and it's always been an argument."
Amspaugh said the installation of seat belts in school buses would obviously provide a measure of protection in the slim chance of a rollover. However, it would be costly and difficult to implement.
"They make seats that can fit three kids, but I'm telling you, the middle kid is (squished)," he said. "The cost, the capacity studies. Who puts them in and out of their seats? Who trains them? These little kids are magicians anymore. You give them a buckle and don't think they can get in or out of it, but they'll get out."
A school bus comes equipped with many safety measures.
DeWine and his task force may also consider penalties for traffic violations related to school buses.
Amspaugh said he would like to see lawmakers enact harsher penalties for drivers who run bus stop lights.
"I still think that we ought to have more bite," he said. "More penalties for drivers that run our flashing red lights. The little slap on the hand that I feel drivers get that happens, I don't think it does what it needs to do."
Amspaugh said school bus traffic violations happen nearly every day in Celina.
"If he (DeWine) really wants to talk safety, statistics show that the kids that are hurt and killed, it happens outside the bus, and not inside the bus," he said.
Amspaugh said he's had a couple of parents reach out to him with concerns about their children's safety after the bus crash in Springfield, which he understands.
"It scares them to death, and I empathize with them," he said. "I'm a grandparent. You put your babies on a bus, and you go, 'Here you go, please take care of them.'"
He assured them that Celina students are in safe hands, as their drivers are some of the best in the state.
"We practice, we train, we drive the thoughts into their heads about what procedures need to be done," he said. "My motto is, 'Our students are job No. 1.' That's why we're here. We're not here for the money. That's what keeps me awake at night, thinking about how we do our jobs and transport our kids as safe as we can."
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New Bremen Elementary kids file onto a bus after their first day of school for the 2023-24 school year.
