You probably rode the school bus as a kid. Not a lot has changed. Without seat belts to keep kids in their seats, many still walk the aisle, turn around and talk to the children behind them, and in some cases, bully other kids. There can be up to 66 children on a large school bus, and often there is only the driver to keep them all under control while trying to keep his eyes on the road.

When we put lap-shoulder seat belts on school buses, that can all change. Check out what happened to one district when they put seat belts on one of their most badly behaved buses.

93% of all school bus drivers report some form of bullying on their buses, but when you look at drivers lucky enough to have lap-shoulder seat belts on their buses and a school district with an enforced usage policy, 80% of them say they’ve reduced bullying. 70% of these drivers also said that lap-shoulder belts not only reduced bad behavior, they actually had a positive impact on behavior as well. Less bullying and less bad behavior means a less distracted driver who can focus on the road. That’s better for everyone.

While seat belts can’t stop all the bullies, they can keep them in their seats!  In recent years, the school districts that have switched to mandatory seat belts on school buses have found the reduction in bullying to be dramatic. In some cases, districts have reported a complete elimination of bullying on school buses altogether!