Why Texas School Buses May be Unsafe

Posted On May 3, 2017 In Local Car Accidents

Every car has seat belts, it’s the law. If you are caught without your seat belt in Texas, you will be fined and a minor caught without a seat belt is an even greater fine. Seat belts save many lives every day, and you would assume since Texas state law has made wearing seat belts a priority enforceable by the law, especially for children, that school buses would definitely be equipped with the best seat belt technology. Unfortunately, this is not the case and is why Texas school buses may be unsafe for passengers.

In 2009, Texas legislature allotted $10 million to invest into updating school buses to be equipped with seat belts. The majority of school districts have still not updated their buses to this day. State officials say that it is a priority issue within the school districts not wanting to purchase new buses with new seat belts, because the buses they currently have are sturdy and work for a very long time. The money allocated by the state does not apply to retrofitting old buses, it only applies to purchasing new ones. A bill has been introduced by a Texas state senator requiring that all new buses purchased be required to have 3-point seat belts, one of the safest varieties.

We can assume that school buses will continue to get safer as more buses are bought, but many old buses are still running with limited safety for the passengers. This is a serious issue, and below are some tips for how to react if you are involved in a bus accident as a car driver.

Steps to Take If Involved in a Bus Accident.

• Remain calm: This will be difficult in the wake of a potentially severe bus accident with multiple victims, but necessary for you to get through the situation.
• Report the accident: Call the local authorities if the accident is serious, make sure emergency response gets to the scene as quickly as possible.
• Call your insurance company: Report the damages to your vehicle, take pictures of the crash scene, tell them what happened. Report how much the damages cost to repair once they are fixed.

Bus accidents can be severe, and the reasons behind the accident can be much more complex than initially meets the eye. Having a Lufkin auto accident attorney that is experienced in handling many vehicle accident cases, including different kinds of vehicles, can help you get all the information you need for dealing with compensation for injuries and vehicle damages. Rules for filing claims against Governmental entities, like an accident involving a city bus, are different than filing against another insured driver of a car.