Accidents

HEC Shoots Down Bus Seat Belt Bill

January 20, 2006 by Joel Bieber

Citing the fact that school bus safety studies are inconclusive, the House Education Committee voted 18-4 against requiring seatbelts to be installed on all new busses puchased by school districts.

The proposals by Del. Lionell Spruill Sr., D-Chesapeake, and Bob G. Marshall, R-Prince William, were then tabled indefinitely by 18-4 votes.

Spruill said he submitted his bill, HB8 4, partly in response to pleas from constituents, and partly because of a series of bus crashes around the state. He said constituents asked him, "Does somebody have to die before you fix this?"

He then consulted with members of the Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk school boards. "They all said something has got to be done," he said.