Should School Buses be required to have seat belts

Name
Professor
Subject
Date
Should School Buses be Required to Have Seat Belts?
Introduction
The issue of whether schools should have seat belts has been debated for years. While some supporters are supporting the motion, some challengers have disagreed claiming that school buses are very safe and do not require seat belts. They argue that large buses have an interior design of tall seats with energy absorbing materials and closer spacing that protects the children. Therefore, these challengers believe that using seatbelts is wastage of money. However, supporters argue that school buses reduce bullying and protect children. The supporters believe that seatbelts protect children from accidents as well as reducing mistreatment of other students. Schools buses require seat belts because they keep the children safe in case of an accident and reduce bullying among the students.
Detail 1
Schools buses should have seat belts because they play an essential role in keeping the students safe in case of an occurrence of an accident. Accidents are unpredictable and not all road users adhere to the rules of driving safely. Some drive carelessly, others use unroadworthy vehicles while others drive under the influence of alcohol. As a result, such people cause unnecessary accidents that may end up hurting students. However, in the event of a crash, the seat belts will help to keep the students in the seats and prevent them from rolling.
A. Evidence
According to Hu, a bus carrying forty-five students as well as some adults led to the death of one student and a teacher after it collided on New Jersey highway with a dump truck.

The police reported that the students had been wearing seat belts, which helped to reduce fatalities in the horrible crash.
Detail 2
School buses require seat belts because they help to reduce bullying during the transportation of students. Seat belts can make a huge role in changing the behaviour of children during transportation. Most students get rowdy when being transported to school while other students have a habit of leaning over the school bus seats and mistreating other students. However, implementing lap-shoulder seat belts can help keep the students in their seats, reducing any bullying incidents.
A. Evidence
Seat belts in the school buses help to control the students’ behaviour by ensuring they remain seated throughout the journey. Research shows that one out of three children is bullied on a school bus (O’Neil and Vits). Therefore, these seat belts ensure the students do not walk unnecessary, reducing bullying and unruly behaviour in the school bus.
Counterclaim
However, some challengers do not support that schools should have seat belts. The challengers argue that large buses have an interior design of tall seats with energy absorbing materials and closer spacing that protects the children. “Children are protected from crashes by strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs” (NHTSA). This quote means that school buses experience less crash force since the interior design distributes the effect of a crash during accidents. Indeed, the quote is significant because it shows students are passively protected in the school buses without buckling up and hence, the reason why school buses should not have a seat belt.
A. Rebuttal
Although most of the school buses are large and equipped with strong seats, some schools do not have such large school buses.
B. Evidence
Research shows that some small schools have smaller buses that are closer in size as well as weight to the passenger trucks and cars (Hu). As a result, these smaller buses become a danger to students in case of an accident. Therefore, seatbelts are required to increase the safety of the students.
Conclusion
Schools buses require seat belts because they keep the children safe in case of an accident and reduce bullying among the students. Although challengers argue on the buses being large and strong, not all schools have such buses. The strong interior design of large buses does not account for the small school buses. As a result, using seatbelts can apply to all the schools having either small or large buses. Moreover, seatbelts help reduce fatalities in case of accidents. They hold students to the seats and prevent them from rolling. Indeed, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, which shows that buses at school should be equipped with seatbelts.
Works Cited
Hu, Winnie. “Are Seatbelts Required on School Buses?” Breaking News, World News & Multimedia – The New York Times, 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/nyregion/seatbelts-school-buses.html.
NHTSA. “School Bus Safety.” NHTSA, 2018, www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/school-bus-safety.
O’Neil, Joseph, and Charlie Vits. “School Buses and Seat Belts.” Home – Automotive Safety, 2018, www.preventinjury.org/PDF/IP-Conference-2012/School-Buses-and-Seat-Belts-Rev5.