NTSB recommends Shoulder and lap seat belts on new school buses

SOUTH BEND, Ind – The National Transportation Safety Board recommends new shoulder and lap belts on all new buses following several deadly crashes.

The recommendation has support from some states and local school districts while others say it is too expensive.

At least 29 states introduced a new school bus safety belt law last year.

States like Tennessee failed to pass bills that lawmakers saying the roughly $13 million dollars in annual costs is too expensive.

In 2016 a bus crash in Chattanooga Tennessee killed six children and the safety board said the lack of adequate seat belts mad the effects of the crash a lot worse.

Eight states already require some measure of a seat belt on large school buses, but Indiana is not one of them.

ABC57 reached out to local school districts, and they said they would have to look into the proposal before responding.