(WBEN) - A lot has been made about children's safety at school over the years, but perhaps more attention will soon be made about the safety of kids heading to-and-from school on buses.
This past Friday saw an accident on the I-290 Eastbound in Amherst involving a First Student bus that ended up in a ditch just past the Harlem Road on-ramp. There were five children on the bus, who were being transported to the Cantalician Center in Cheektowaga.
Luckily, the five kids onboard the bus were released from Oishei Children's Hospital later Friday afternoon after undergoing further evaluation. The driver of the bus was evaluated at the scene, while the aide on the bus was transported to Erie County Medical Center with serious injuries.
As WBEN has learned, three of the five students on the bus in Friday's accident were Niagara Falls students. Niagara Falls City Schools Superintendent Mark Laurrie is thankful the students onboard the bus were OK, and also properly fastened with the harnesses they were wearing.
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While buses across the state are required to be equipped with seat belts, there's no requirement, expectation or mandate for students to be wearing seat belts on a regular school bus across the state. However, buses like the one involved in Friday's accident will have proper seat belts and harnesses to keep those children safe.
But when it comes to a regular school bus, how many students tend to wear seat belts going to-and-from school on a regular basis? Despite being encouraged to wear seat belts on the bus, some school administrators admit those numbers are quite low.
"It's a very, very low number, if any, in the city," said Laurrie in an interview with WBEN. "We have two transportation providers, one does it in the 16-mile radius of Niagara Falls, and I would say that is very, very minimal, if any at all."
"I'm not 100% certain, but I would think it's probably not as common on a 65-passenger bus for students to be seat-belted," added Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Dr. Brian Graham with WBEN.
With the number of students who actually wear a seat belt on a school bus that low, do school administrators feel the need to reassess the safety of kids on school buses, especially in the event of an accident?
Laurrie believes it would be incumbent upon the education of children to know seat belts are on the bus for a purpose, just like they are in any car ride they may take.
"It seems logical that would be a next step, even for travel in a short distance. If it's logical for you to do it with a car, in my mind, it would be logical for you to do it with a bus," Laurrie said. "I'm not certain what the difference would be without a seat belt, because kids could be easily jostled, even in a city accident. And we've had those occur as well, again, thankfully, without any injury, but it just seems like a logical next step."
Meanwhile, Dr. Graham, who also serves as the Vice President of the Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association, says it remains a local district's decision, at this time, with the Director of Transportation and administration working with the school board to make a determination on whether or not students wearing a seat belt on the bus is something that is required.
In addition, it comes down to the level of education and recommendations for students when it comes to school bus safety.
"Keeping kids seated forward and not in the aisles is super important, and I know it's encouraged for kids to put their seat belt on. To the extent of also keeping kids safe, it's just another reminder for all of us, all the citizens in our area to follow the safety traffic laws, and make sure we, ourselves, are conducting ourselves in the most safe manner as possible. It keeps everybody safe, ourselves and those around us when we're driving," Dr. Graham said.
School bus drivers already have a challenging job as it is to ensure the safety of getting kids to-and-from school every single day. In order to make sure more students are wearing their seat belts and provide an extra eye for school bus drivers, perhaps a solution may be to have more bus aides on-hand to assist.
However, that may not be as easy as it seems, in theory.
"There's a lot of factors, of course, that go into adding personnel to any entity, whether it's classrooms or buses. It certainly is a local decision for people to contemplate. If you have a bus fleet of 55 buses, obviously it's a tremendous impact for the taxpayers to add 55 bus attendants," Dr. Graham said.
"We are reimbursed by the state government for our transportation, to a certain point, that would certainly be part of it. The other part of it is finding the bodies, finding the people. It is very hard now not just to find school bus drivers, but school bus associates," Laurrie added. "What seems like a very easy fix has a lot of complex wings to it that would have to take place, but it's all worth it in the name of kids' safety."
Is there a possibility that one day New York State lawmakers could sign into law a bill that requires students to wear seat belts on all buses across the state? Superintendents like Dr. Graham feel those types of considerations should maybe be looked at to keep kids safe every single day.
"I know it weighs heavily on the minds of superintendents all across New York State, especially when the weather is inclement. That's why you'll see sometimes we aren't shy about closing schools during inclement weather, particularly because of all the effort and work it takes to transport kids safely to school," Dr. Graham said. "So, to that end, yes, I think the more we can do to keep kids safe, as always, is the best solution."
As for Laurrie, he can absolutely see that as the next generation of what's going to happen with school buses.
"We've seen, unfortunately, too many crashes, too many tragedies happening. Just like with automobiles, I think it's certainly wise to take every precaution that's easy, unobtrusive and keeps kids and people safe," he said. "That seems like the next natural progression, and when you're dealing with kids, I think there's no cost or safety measure that is too much for you to take. I think you're right on the money, it's going to come."