When ABC News investigated why lap-shoulder seat belts aren’t on school buses, they came to IMMI’s SafeGuard4Kids.  As the only organization currently doing any real research in this area, IMMI lent our testing, engineering and safety expertise to help out. For years, opponents have voiced outdated and untrue excuses that have kept this vital safety equipment off most school buses all over the country. It’s frustrating to hear the same tired excuses repeated as truth when the evidence shows another story, and evidence is exactly what we shared with ABC News.

IMMI turned to CAPE, the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation, a test house that has safety tested more school buses and child car seats than any other test house in the world. CAPE performed a 30mph frontal barrier and rollover crash demonstration for Paula Faris, weekend anchor of Good Morning America, and her ABC News crew. Watch what happened to the unbelted “students” versus those in lap-shoulder belts.

World News Videos | ABC World News

As a result of our testing and this story, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to revisit the issue.

Statistically, school buses are one of the safest vehicles on the road, but the industry can do better. The idea that compartmentalization alone is enough to protect our kids is simply not true. Even when it works, and it doesn’t in a side impact or rollover, who wants their child forcibly thrown into the seat back in front of them when there’s a better safety option available?

We encourage you to browse our site and look at the most popular excuses. We separate the fact from the fiction here, and you can also see other crash demonstrations we’ve conducted that show similar results.

No More Excuses™. It’s time for SafeGuard® lap-shoulder belts on our children’s school buses.