SUMMARY:

            This bill would amend Part 4 of Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 40 of O.C.G.A. to require that all new school buses purchased or leased on and after July 1, 2009 be equipped with safety belts and that they must be used for children over 4 years old in buses that are so equipped.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Violation may be considered evidence of negligence, which would negate legal immunity of the employee and school system.
• If a student fails to use the belts, that fact could not be used as a basis for cancellation of insurance coverage or increase in insurance rates.

NOTES:

• Though a popular notion, there is no evidence in current research that seat belts are any more effective than “compartmentalization,” the padding surrounding seats in current bus specifications.
• There are concerns that “exuberant” children might use the belts and their buckles as weapons in an argument.
• There are concerns that in the case of a rollover resulting in a fire on the bus that the youngest children would not be able to release the buckles to escape the burning bus.