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What states require seat belts on school buses?
My first child will be starting school soon and taking the bus for the first time. I’m wondering if seat belts are required by law.
Jacqulyn Graber · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and Texas require seat belts on school buses.
Federal law authorizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to set national standards for school bus safety. The NHTSA requires three-point seat belts on school buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds but allows individual states or local jurisdictions to decide whether to require seat belts on larger school buses.
The NHTSA has traditionally held that large school buses do not need seat belts because they are already the safest way for students to travel to school. Plus, adding seat belts reduces the number of students each bus can carry, because the thicker seat backs needed to accommodate the seat belts mean each bus must have fewer rows of seats.
Nonetheless, California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and Texas require seat belts on school buses—although the legal details vary from state to state.
For example, in New York, individual school boards are allowed to decide if they’d like to require students to actually use seat belts. In California, on the other hand, school bus passengers must be taught how to use seat belts and legally must wear them.
Seat belts can offer a layer of protection and peace of mind for children riding on the school bus. Want to protect your child while they’re in the car with you? Invest in a top-notch
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