Describes school bus safety products currently on the market, such as motion-sensing alarms, automatic breaking shields, front-mounted crossing gates, and strobe lights. Gives price information and evaluates products' usefulness and necessity. (MLH)

School boards can substantially minimize school bus fires with recently improved fire-resistant materials. Tests comparing fires in buses without resistant materials with fires controllable by protective materials demonstrate that manufacturers should be urged to improve materials. Materials would not prevent fires, but they would buy time to…

Examines critically the National Transportation Safety Board's post-1977 school bus standards, which encourage but do not require seat belts. (JBM)

Approaches to maintaining order and discipline in school transportation include revoking or suspending a student's bus-riding privileges, using radios and video cameras, and using bus monitors. School leaders must demonstrate support for their school-bus drivers. A sidebar lists 17 suggested rules for student behavior to ensure safe…

A March 1982 Jonesboro, Arkansas, school bus accident in which nine people were killed has rekindled the debate over school bus safety, says the author. The article discusses briefly the opposition historically between school bus manufacturers and safety advocates and presents cost-benefit arguments concerning mandatory seat-belt installation.…

Presents five arguments against requiring seat belts on school buses, including the need for better trained drivers, the danger that students will be trapped by seat belts in emergencies, and other problems relating to practicality and cost. Included is an editorial insert indicating how safety advocates respond to such objections. (JBM)