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Why don't all school buses have seat belts?

As the school year winds down, a family in middle Georgia are pushing for seat belts in the buses that transport children to and from school.

ATLANTA – As the school year winds down, a family in middle Georgia are pushing for seat belts in the buses that transport children to and from school.

In January, 6-year-old Arlana Haynes died when the driver of her Houston County school bus lost control and flipped. The Parkwood Elementary student was ejected from the bus.

Her family has started a petition urging the state of Georgia to require seat belts on school buses.

“It's a must that it must be on the bus so no other children have to go through what mine did, and no other parent has to go through what I'm going through now,” says the child’s mother Angelica Rose.

11Alive’s Why Guy is exploring why most buses lack seatbelts.

In November of 2015, the chairman of the National Traffic Safety Board recommended that all school buses come equipped with shoulder and lap belts.

“The position of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is that seat belts save lives,” said then NHTSA then-administrator Mark Rosekind. “NHTSA’s policy is that every child on every school bus should have a three-point seat belt. I want to launch a nationwide effort to get us there.”

The federal government still doesn’t require school districts to belt students into their seats during the ride to and from school. Smaller special education buses do have belts.

NHTSA insists that large school buses are heavier and better able to withstand the force of a crash than passenger cars. Buses rely on a concept called “compartmentalization” to protect children. Students sit on padded, energy absorbing seats.

The agency says deaths in school bus related crashes are less than one-percent of all traffic fatalities in the U.S.

“According to NHTSA data, school buses are the safest option for a child to travel,” the agency said in a statement. “NHTSA will continue working with officials from local jurisdictions that are using seat belts on school buses to learn ways to deal with cost and other factors.”

Barry Sudduth, President of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, says NHTSA is sending local school districts mixed messages.

“NAPT will continue to advocate that, in the absence of a federal requirement for seat belts on large school buses, NHTSA provide state and local policy-makers with clear and unambiguous information to ensure that local decisions can be made in the best interest of enhancing the safety of children,” says Sudduth. “We feel strongly that NHTSA should explain clearly and specifically why there is no federal seat belt mandate.”

The Georgia Department of Education says seatbelts are an option for local school districts that choose to pay for them.

Fulton County has purchased several new buses with three-point belts that added $7,600 to the total cost of the bus.

Local school districts say retrofitting old buses with belts is complicated and in some cases require replacing the entire seat, making it cost prohibitive.

Gwinnett County is evaluating options.

“What if enforcement of the proper wearing of seat belts isn’t 100%,” said Gwinnett school spokeswoman Sloan Roach. “What if the use of seat belts inhibits the rapid exiting of students in the event of an accident?”

NHTSA insists even without seat belts, buses are the safest way to travel to and from school.

Loved ones of Arlana Haynes are among those who insist those buses COULD be much safer.

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