The School Bus Safety Act, reintroduced by Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) as HR 10022, aims to enhance safety measures for school buses nationwide. This legislation seeks to implement recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), including mandatory seat belts for every seat and automatic braking systems. Cohen emphasized, “There is no more precious cargo than school-aged children,” highlighting the urgency of the bill. The act also proposes a grant program to assist financially struggling school districts in upgrading their bus fleets. Despite previous attempts at the federal level, only a few states have enacted seat belt laws, often contingent on funding. The act is supported by various organizations, including the National Safety Council and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and aims to reduce the alarming statistics of school-transportation-related fatalities, which averaged 108 per year from 2022 to 2023. The legislation would take effect one year after the rules are issued.
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