COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio school bus safety group met for the final time on Friday, with one of the main topics of discussion centering around the possibility of seatbelts on school buses.
Davida Russell, a long-time school bus driver, told the group that the majority of bus drivers do not want seatbelts on the bus.
“Most drivers are carrying three classrooms on their bus,” said Russell. “If anything happens or if a tragedy happens and the driver can’t get out of their seat belt, then they can't assist other people.”
Russell said right now, drivers need more help.
“They feel right now even without seatbelts, they need an aide on every bus. Think about it, it's common sense. How can you expect one person with a seatbelt on in a bus to take care of 56 kids,” she said.
Russell said what drivers do need is better safety technology on the buses, like a lane indicator that helps you stay in your lane.
“If someone is running your stop sign then you have cameras on the inside of your buses so you can see what’s happening around your bus,” said Russell.
Andy Wilson, the director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety said the last six meetings have been successful. He wants to focus on improving school bus driver training.
“They want training that will help keep kids safe so if the bus goes off the road, 'how do I get it back on without overcorrecting?' It really is advanced driver training for bus drivers,” said Wilson.
Wilson said he hopes the recommendations will provide school districts with the information they need to improve school bus safety.
“We want to make sure the schools have the best practices, they know what the best practices are and how we can do it better,” said Wilson.