Field trip transportation

[Anonymous]

Dc’s preK class has a field trip this week to a pumpkin patch in MD about an hour away. They’re taking a bus/busses. We asked the teacher this morning if they’re school busses or charter busses and whether there are safety restraints and she didn’t know the answer. I know I can call the school but I’m wondering what others experience is with this. DC is obviously still in a car seat and I’m a little skittish about sending them on a bus on the highway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dc’s preK class has a field trip this week to a pumpkin patch in MD about an hour away. They’re taking a bus/busses. We asked the teacher this morning if they’re school busses or charter busses and whether there are safety restraints and she didn’t know the answer. I know I can call the school but I’m wondering what others experience is with this. DC is obviously still in a car seat and I’m a little skittish about sending them on a bus on the highway.

A school bus without a seatbelt is safer than a car seat in a car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc’s preK class has a field trip this week to a pumpkin patch in MD about an hour away. They’re taking a bus/busses. We asked the teacher this morning if they’re school busses or charter busses and whether there are safety restraints and she didn’t know the answer. I know I can call the school but I’m wondering what others experience is with this. DC is obviously still in a car seat and I’m a little skittish about sending them on a bus on the highway.

A school bus without a seatbelt is safer than a car seat in a car.

For a 3 year old?

[Anonymous]

When DD was 3 her daycare did a couple of field trips on small buses and the kids were just in lapbelts. I went in and installed her carseat. I was the only parent that did though.

In theory the bus seats are designed in such a way that a child will not fly forward in an accident because the seat in front is tall enough to stop them.
I would not be happy about it either and probably wouldnt let my kid go.

[Anonymous]

It depends on where you are. In CA, buses are required to have safety belts/harnesses.

Having said that, school buses are safer than cars as a form of transport. They are actually much LESS likely compared to cars to get into accidents (professional drivers, different rules, harder to ignore a bus, etc.) and school bus design is WAY, WAY more likely to protect the kids in a crash than a comparatively flimsy car. A car hitting a school bus would probably get completely wrecked but the buses' occupants would be okay because of the sheer amount of space and bulk around them (think about how far behind the front the kids are and how high up they are).

School bus related accidents and fatalities tend not to be actual school bus accidents but kids getting hit approaching or walking away from the bus at bus stops (especially when drivers try to pass illegally in the opposite direction when the arm is down).

So my instinct is that even at that age, the focus should be on getting kids loaded on and off the bus safely.

[Anonymous]

But "in CA they're required to have belts/harnesses" I mean they have 3 point harnesses.

[Anonymous]

My pre-k 3 son had a field trip recently, and his school had charter buses with booster seats with 5-point harness. The installation seemed to be hit or miss, but the kids were restrained in their seats.

The teacher mentioned that they had to have the boosters due to head start regulations.

[Anonymous]

When my DD was in PK they had charter buses with seatbelts. I chaperones and the seats actually said that car seats should not be installed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When DD was 3 her daycare did a couple of field trips on small buses and the kids were just in lapbelts. I went in and installed her carseat. I was the only parent that did though.

In theory the bus seats are designed in such a way that a child will not fly forward in an accident because the seat in front is tall enough to stop them.
I would not be happy about it either and probably wouldnt let my kid go.

Newer buses are designed with compartmentalization in mind, meaning that all the seats, etc. are designed to absorb shock (the padding and structure is designed for this) and also the seats are big enough and the backs move in such a way that a child, especially a smaller one, is essentially surrounded in a padded "compartment" in a crash. The structure of the bus is also designed to absorb shock.

It's actually much safer than a car, especially since you have to add the fact that any head-on crash would also be much farther from the kids than with a car and the kids are above the huge wheels and cargo compartment, so the majority of impact in a crash would happen "below" the kids.

[Anonymous]

If you're at a Head Start school, car seats are required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my DD was in PK they had charter buses with seatbelts. I chaperones and the seats actually said that car seats should not be installed.

My dad drives a charter bus. Car seats are not to be installed, and he won't leave if a parent installs one. He isn't allowed to.

If It's an issue for you, don't send your child on the bus.

I'm not sure why a preschool wouldn't use vehicles that will use carseats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my DD was in PK they had charter buses with seatbelts. I chaperones and the seats actually said that car seats should not be installed.

My dad drives a charter bus. Car seats are not to be installed, and he won't leave if a parent installs one. He isn't allowed to.

If It's an issue for you, don't send your child on the bus.

I'm not sure why a preschool wouldn't use vehicles that will use carseats.

Quoting myself. This is for carseats. I'm not sure about boosters. Some kids in Pre-K are still small enough for carseats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc’s preK class has a field trip this week to a pumpkin patch in MD about an hour away. They’re taking a bus/busses. We asked the teacher this morning if they’re school busses or charter busses and whether there are safety restraints and she didn’t know the answer. I know I can call the school but I’m wondering what others experience is with this. DC is obviously still in a car seat and I’m a little skittish about sending them on a bus on the highway.

A school bus without a seatbelt is safer than a car seat in a car.

For a 3 year old?

Yes, buses are far safer than cars both in terms of avoiding crashes and in terms of what would happen in an actual highway crash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on where you are. In CA, buses are required to have safety belts/harnesses.

Having said that, school buses are safer than cars as a form of transport. They are actually much LESS likely compared to cars to get into accidents (professional drivers, different rules, harder to ignore a bus, etc.) and school bus design is WAY, WAY more likely to protect the kids in a crash than a comparatively flimsy car. A car hitting a school bus would probably get completely wrecked but the buses' occupants would be okay because of the sheer amount of space and bulk around them (think about how far behind the front the kids are and how high up they are).

School bus related accidents and fatalities tend not to be actual school bus accidents but kids getting hit approaching or walking away from the bus at bus stops (especially when drivers try to pass illegally in the opposite direction when the arm is down).

So my instinct is that even at that age, the focus should be on getting kids loaded on and off the bus safely.

Yes. Statistically, riding the bus is a very safe activity for people of all ages, far safer than riding in a private car. However, walking to the bus can be a dangerous activity, depending on pedestrian safety in your area.

[Anonymous]

Don't know if this is the same school, but my Pre-K 3 kid just rode a regular school bus to a pumpkin patch yesterday. It was fine, and she was soooo excited to ride a "real" (big yellow) school bus. We were more worried about her getting lost at the pumpkin patch, but schools have these systems perfected and know what they're doing. Try not to let the worry get to you, they'll be fine (and safe).