Seat-belts must be mandatory on all school buses because they reduce the risk of injury or death, car safety rules must be consistent, and there is no valid opposition for this rule.

             Seat-belts should be mandatory for all school buses because they reduce the risk of injury or death for the passengers in case of an accident. According to Alan Ross, a spokesman for the National Coalition for School Bus Safety, installing seat-belts onto school buses is just common sense. "We know from our car experience that these restraints are life-saving." (Anderson & Cho) Fatal school bus crashes, such as the one in Arlington, Virginia just weeks ago, may have had a different outcome if seat-belts had been installed in the vehicle. The New South Wales Department of Transport reports that attaching lap/sash seat-belts to buses could indeed decrease the risk of injury to passengers on the bus. The effectiveness of seat belts has been proven in many studies, and it is estimated that seat belt use on large school buses could increase safety by up to twenty percent. For smaller school buses, the effectiveness would be even higher, and likely comparable to the fifty percent effectiveness of seat-belts that are used in conventional cars. (Henderson & Paine) The reason why seat-belts should be mandatory in all vehicles that transport children is obvious, and a school transportation expert at the California Department of Education stated it very simply: "It might prevent injuries or fatalities. You can't argue with that." (Anderson & Cho) .

             A second reason that it is vital to have safety belts installed on all school buses is because of the example this sets for children. As one doctor point out, "Although most adults have become accustomed to wearing a seat belt, which is compulsory in many parts of the world, many parents seem to take a less sensible attitude where children are concerned.