Would a bus without seatbelts keep you from a summer camp?

Anonymous
Considering signing up for a summer camp that transports the kids to and from the camp each day. About a 45 min drive, on highways and most of the buses don't have seat belts. (they're not the big yellow school buses, but more mid-size buses). Would you skip this camp or am I entering helicopter-mom territory by worrying about it?
Anonymous
I wouldn't worry about this.
Anonymous
I'd be fine with it.
Anonymous
No, this would not keep me from a camp. We ride the city bus almost every day, and there are no seatbelts there either.
Anonymous
Buses aren't supposed to have seatbelts. You can find other threads on here about the safety reasons for why they aren't required and why they'd actually be hazardous..
Anonymous
What I would be more concerned with are the drivers.

YMCA, Calleva, Valley Mill, Barrie etc.

What are the certifications for bus drivers?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:What I would be more concerned with are the drivers.

YMCA, Calleva, Valley Mill, Barrie etc.

What are the certifications for bus drivers?


They have a commercial driver's license. See certification process here for Maryland: http://www.mva.maryland.gov/drivers/apply/cdl/commercial.htm
Anonymous
I'm not worried about real school buses. I do avoid camps with 15 passenger vans, including school buses made out of those platforms. They are very dangerous, seatbelts or not.
Anonymous
My kindergartner is still in a 5 pt harness in the car, but no seat belt on the bus. Im not worried as long as the general behavior on the bus is good and they stay in their seats.
Anonymous
Mid-sized buses are still bigger (heavier, longer, higher) than nearly anything else on the road. I wouldn't worry about it.

This article's about school bus safety, but the principles are the same.
Anonymous
OP, I worry about that stuff but I have known for a while that most of my peers don't! Not sure where you live but Capitol Hill Day School Camp (really nice and surprisingly affordable!) has their own drivers and seat belts on every bus. If a bus got into an accident on the highway the kids would go flying. No way they wouldn't without seat belts. The driver always has one..
Anonymous
I probably would not only because I'd be concerned that if they are just summer camp buses, how well are they maintained and who is driving them?
Anonymous
I read once about why buses don't have seatbelts, and don't remember the reason, but aren't there occasionally accidents where kids die? Seems like seatbelts would help...
Anonymous
No, since seatbelts on busses are dangerous to kids.
Anonymous
I have thought about this too OP
DD is only 5 and going to camp sonshine this year. They dont do field trips at this age but they do as they get older. The thought of a group of them all on one of those blue buses when I know nothing about the driver freaks me out a little bit. Not sure what I will do when she gets to that age.
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