1. Selecting
a car safety seat for the child's individual needs
2. Positioning and
Securing the child in the car safety seat following the manufacturer's instructions
3. Installing
the car safety seat correctly in the vehicle following both the car seat
instructions and the car owner's manual
Use the drop down menu below to navigate the different sections of the safety guide. After you have reviewed the information take the online bus & safety quiz.
Buses and vans are often used to transport children with special needs for school and childcare. There are several types of vehicles used in these situations and some are safer than others. Children should be protected in these vehicles by a child safety restraint system that is appropriate for the child's age and size as well as for the vehicle. It is important for parents, schools and childcare providers to understand these issues so they can insure that the children in their care have safe transportation.
The information in this booklet is intended to give general guidelines to help
make informed decisions about travel safety for children with special needs
in school and childcare settings. Every situation should be evaluated separately.
Differences in policies, vehicles, child restraint systems (CRSs) and medical
conditions must be taken into consideration as well as each child's changing
health and growth.
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Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for eligible school age children and Individual Family Service Plans (IFSPs) for eligible preschoolers should include a section about transportation. The type of vehicle the child will be traveling in, the type of child safety restraint system (CRS) used, the correct fit of the child in the CRS and the correct installation of the CRS are all important issues. The ride will be easier for everyone if each child is safe, secure and comfortable.
The child's medical professional may be able to provide a letter or written documentation stating the child's need for a certain type of CRS, optimal positioning, or other requirements for travel safety. However, adjustments may have to be made depending on available vehicles, seatbelts, travel time, and other factors. Sometimes, an aide is needed to accompany a child on the bus or van.
Occupational therapists, physical therapists, pediatricians, and certified child passenger
safety technicians can help choose the best type of safety restraint system for a child.
Insurance companies and Medicaid will often pay for special child safety restraints
with a prescription and letter of medical necessity from a physician.
It's important that the vehicle drivers and aides understand each child's travel and
equipment needs and that they have the time and training to make the trip as safe
as possible for everyone.
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School buses are the safest vehicles on the road. In the United States, school buses make 8.8 billion student trips a year, yet an average of only 6 children die each year as school bus passengers and only 29 getting on or off a school bus. In contrast, according to the Transportation Research Board of The National Academy of Sciences, more than 800 school aged children are killed every year as passengers in other motor vehicles, walking or riding bicycles during normal school transportation hours.
A traditional school bus
weighs more than 10,000
pounds and is designed to
carry more than ten people
to and from school. The buses are sometimes used for other school related activities
such as field trips and sports. These buses are yellow and the words “school bus”
are clearly printed on the outside.
Federal law requires modern school buses to have more safety features than any other vehicle. Safety requirements include warning lights, stop arms, specially designed seats, better brakes, special mirrors, emergency exits, rollover protection, and fuel system protection. However, many of the safety features required for school buses are not required for other types of vehicles used to transport children in situations other than to and from school.
“Compartmentalization” is most often used for crash protection in large school buses. This means the seats are specially padded with energy absorbing foam, are flexible and designed high and close together so a child will be confined to a small space or “compartment” in a crash. It provides passive occupant protection using the concept of “eggs in a carton.”
Some traditional, large school buses have seat belts or other built-in restraints for crash protection, but they are not required in Ohio and most other states. Preschoolers and some children with special needs may be too small or fragile to be safely restrained with compartmentalization. Seat belts or latch anchors are necessary to install most child safety restraint systems, but most safety vests can be used with cam wraps—belts that wrap around the bus seat to anchor them. Built-in child safety seats are sometimes used in buses instead of car seats and safety vests. These integrated child safety seats can be ordered on new buses or installed later as another occupant restraint system option.
Small school buses weigh less than 10,000 pounds and are designed to carry
more than ten people. They are also yellow and have the words “school bus” clearly
printed on the outside. These buses must conform to certain state and federal safety
laws, including having lap belts in all seating positions. These buses are often used
to carry preschoolers and children with special needs. The lap belts are important
for securing child safety restraint systems (CRSs) or car seats. However, lap belts
should never be used to secure booster seats. Some small buses used for childcare
and other programs are not marked as school buses and may not have the same
safety features. Newer buses are required to have latch anchors for use with child
safety restraint systems installed in two seating positions.
The multifunction school activity bus (MFSAB) is a new bus category, which
conforms to the same structural safety requirements as school buses. They do not
have some of the traffic control features of school buses including stop arms and
special mirrors, so they cannot be used to transport any child to home or to school.
They are built with features for preschool age children such as smaller steps.
Vans are also used to transport children. Federal law prohibits vehicle manufacturers from selling vans designed for 11 or more passengers for use as school buses to transport children to or from school. However, in some school districts, these vans are used for athletic teams and other extracurricular activities. The law also allows childcare centers, youth groups, camps, and others to transport children in them. Head Start must phase out all vans for pupil transportation by 2006, due to a ruling by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Fifteen-passenger vans have been found to have a greater risk of rollover than smaller
vehicles and have some other safety concerns. The National Highway Traffic and
Safety Association (NHTSA) reported that, between 1990 and 2002, 54 children under
age 16 were killed in 15-passenger van crashes. The higher safety standards for
body structure and joint strength that school buses are required to meet, help to
prevent injuries when crashes do occur.
Vans designed for ten passengers or less are exempt from federal laws for school buses, but are sometimes used to transport children. If a van has ten or fewer seating positions it is in the Multi-purpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) regulatory class that also includes pick-up trucks and large SUVs.
Personal vehicles may be used to transport children for childcare, youth groups, and
after school activities, unless state, local, or agency regulations forbid it. It is the
driver's responsibility to see that every passenger is properly restrained according
to state law. In Ohio, every child less than 4 years of age or weighing less than 40
pounds must be secured in a federally approved child safety restraint system when
being transported in a motor vehicle. This law includes children with disabilities.
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There are several types of car seats or child safety restraint systems (CRSs) that are commonly sold in retail stores. These are usually classified as infant, convertible, forward-facing only, combination, and booster seats.
Infant CRSs are usually for babies from five to 20 or 22 pounds, but weight limits
on the seats can vary. These seats will always face the back of the vehicle
(rear-facing). They must be reclined according to manufacturer's guidelines, no more
than 45 degrees from the vertical. Most can be used with or without their base.
Convertible CRSs are
usually used for
children who have grown out of infant
seats, but some may be appropriate for
smaller babies. These seats can convert
from rear-facing to forward-facing as the
child grows. Children should remain rearfacing
until they have reached age one
and at least twenty pounds. The American
Academy of Pediatrics strongly
recommends keeping children rear—facing
as long as the weight limit on the seat will allow—usually 30 to 35 pounds. Check
also for height limits. The extra support from a rear-facing convertible seat is especially
important for children with poor head, neck, or trunk control who have outgrown
infant seats.
A convertible seat is usually designed to face forward from 20 to 40 pounds, but some will go to higher weight limits. Sometimes a convertible can be used in a reclined position but facing forward, to give a child with special needs more head, neck, and trunk support. Check with the child's medical professional and read the manufacturer's directions. Note that some convertible seats are not designed to be reclined forward-facing.
Some convertible seats have a “shield” in front along with a three point harness. The shield could cause injury in some cases if the child's body hits against it. Especially be wary if the child's face is near the shield, if the child wears glasses or if the child has a trach tube. A five-point harness is usually a good alternative to a shield. Convertible CRSs can be difficult to install in buses, especially the models with shields.
Forward-facing only CRSs are only for children who are at least one year old and at least 20 pounds. However, it is usually safest to wait to use these seats until the child outgrows the convertible seat. These seats sometimes have higher than 40 pound weight limits and also higher height limits than convertible seats. Some children, especially those with special needs, may need the added support or restraint of a harness even after they have reached the size limits for convertible seats. Check the manufacturer's directions for weight and height limits.
Combination CRSs are designed to be used
with the harness straps until the child reaches
a certain size and then the harness straps are
removed and the seat is converted to a booster
seat. Most of these seats have 40 pound weight
limits with the harnesses, but there are some
designed for higher weights. After the weight
or height limit for the harness is reached, the
harness straps must be removed and these
seats can be used as belt positioning boosters,
but NOT on a school bus.
Booster CRSs must be used with lap and shoulder belts, never lap belts alone. They are designed to be used after children grow out of seats with harness straps. Children should ride in belt positioning boosters until they are about four feet and nine inches tall because seatbelts alone do not fit them properly before that. If a child has special needs, boosters may or may not provide the support or restraint needed. It is best to consult with the child's medical professional and a certified child passenger safety technician before choosing a CRS for a child with special needs. Most often, children with special needs who weigh less than 40 pounds will use one of the conventional car seats already described. Sometimes those children need CRSs designed for special needs.
Large medical seats are designed
for children up to 105 or more pounds
and offer extra padding and harnesses
if a child needs extra upper body support
or more restraint. Another advantage to
using these child restraint systems is
that, unlike boosters, they can be used
with lap belts alone for children over 40
pounds. However, they often require the
use of a tether and are a challenge for
use on a school bus. Some conventional
car seats now offer harness systems for
children up to 80 pounds but may also
require tether use.
A child safety restraint vest is another alternative.
Weight limits reach 165 pounds and many can also
be used on a bus without seat belts as long as a cam
wrap is used to anchor the restraint. Some vests are
made to be easily fastened and unfastened but others
are made to prevent children from unfastening or
removing the vests without adult help.
Factory installed built-in child safety
restraints with harnesses are available in some
vehicles. These systems are often easier to use for
forward-facing passengers, and lap belts can be
ordered to accommodate rear-facing car seats. They
are manufactured with varying weight limits and
features.
Wheelchairs are not required by federal or Ohio laws to be crash tested, even though many children with special needs are transported in them. Some wheelchairs with a transit option are designed to meet certain standards for traveling in a motor vehicle and they should be labeled accordingly. If reasonable and safe, it is best to transfer the child to a seating position with an appropriate child safety restraint system. In those cases, properly anchor the unoccupied wheelchair to the vehicle. If a child must ride in a wheelchair, it is important to properly anchor it to the vehicle with four-point tie down devices and secure the child with a three-point occupant restraint. Occupied wheelchairs should be forward-facing and trays should be removed. The child's head should not be restrained with a strap while traveling in the vehicle. Consult the vehicle and wheelchair manufacturers' guidelines.
Children with special needs often have contact with physical therapists, occupational therapists, behavior specialists, nurses and physicians. These professionals can help determine positioning, support and behavioral needs for transportation.
Certified child passenger safety technicians can also help because they are familiar with the available CRSs and their proper use. Nationally certified child passenger safety technicians must pass a 32 hour training class and retest every two years. They are trained to help parents and medical professionals choose, fit, and install CRSs. An eight-hour course, Child Passenger Training for School Buses, can be taken additionally.
In Ohio, Regional Occupant Protection Resource Coordinators can be contacted to answer questions or to locate a child passenger safety technician in your area. Ohio Regional Occupant Protection Resource Coordinators are listed by counties with contact information at the end of this booklet.
It's important for children's safety that their particular size, age, and special needs
are considered whenever they ride in motor vehicles. But the information given here
is general and subject to change and is not intended to be used alone to determine
which type of CRS is best for a particular child.
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Most seat belts are made to fit adults or large children, not to secure child safety restraints. Correct installation can be difficult or even impossible. It's important to have the instructions for each CRS available (there is usually a place for storage on the CRS) and for the person installing it to read them. The seatbelts in buses and vans are often too long to hold CRSs tightly, but wrapping and twisting seatbelts to shorten them can weaken the belts and make them unsafe. Seatbelts can be ordered in shorter lengths for easier installation. Consult a certified child passenger safety technician for help with CRS installation (see Additional Resources).
It is important to note that abdominal, head, and neck injuries are associated with the use of lap belts without a shoulder belt or harnessed CRS*. Booster seats cannot be used safely in vehicles of any size without lap/shoulder belts. In addition, when seat belts are added to existing school buses, the close spacing of seats designed for compartmentalization may not allow for the safe use of car seats. Child safety restraints can be used when the maximum distance for seat spacing is provided according to FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) 222 (see federal laws) either through factory installation or sometimes, modification. Consult with the vehicle, seatbelt, and CRS manufacturers.
The lap portion of a seatbelt must be locked at all times to safely hold a CRS, but some vehicle seatbelt locks are only activated by a crash or sudden stop. However, seat belts on school buses are designed to always lock and should never require a locking clip or belt shortening clip.
There are two places on a seatbelt that you may find a lock. One is in the latchplate— the end of the belt with a tongue that fits into the buckle. The latchplate may have a moving bar to lock the belt in place. If not, the seatbelt may have a locking retractor—the mechanism that rolls up the seatbelt on the end attached to the vehicle. If the seatbelt doesn't lock and stay locked in either place, a locking clip or belt shortening clip will probably be needed. Always read manufacturers' instructions for correct use and placement of these clips. It's very important that the seatbelt is locked and not able to loosen when the CRS is installed. It is best to get the assistance of a child passenger safety technician to learn how to properly install CRSs (See Additional Resources).
LATCH (lower anchors and tethers for children) systems are a new alternative to seatbelts and are made just for CRS installation. Both the vehicle and the CRS must have been designed for LATCH to use it. Small buses are required to have lower latch anchors in two seating positions and they can be ordered for large school buses. Buses are exempt from the requirement for upper tether anchors but their use is not always necessary. However, some seats designed for larger children and those with special needs require the use of an upper tether strap, even on buses. The seat belt behind the child safety restraint requiring the tether can be used as an anchor. In those cases, you will lose the ability to use that seating position. The upper tether strap should be used when a tether anchor is available in the vehicle. It could be on the floor, ceiling, back of the vehicle seat, or on the shelf behind the vehicle seat. Check vehicle owners' manuals and CRS instructions.
The CRS must be held tightly by the seatbelt or LATCH system. It should be so tight that the CRS doesn't move more than an inch from side to side or front to back when tugged near the belt path. A rear-facing CRS will have some movement in the back where it is on the edge of the vehicle seat, but it must be tight at the belt path.
It is important to use the correct belt path when installing the CRS with a seatbelt or LATCH belt. There may be more than one belt path depending on the type of CRS, the direction it is facing, and whether a seatbelt or LATCH belt is being used.
CRSs for children under 20 pounds or under one year old must face the back of the vehicle. It is best to keep the child rearfacing for as long as possible, depending on the weight and height limits of the seat. Young infants need to be at a reclined angle according to the manufacturer's directions (no more than 45 degrees) but they can sit more upright as they gain head and neck control. A child with poor head, neck or trunk control may need to be reclined longer. The harness straps on rearfacing seats must be adjusted to be at or below the child's shoulders.
When a child is forward-facing in a CRS, the harness straps must be at or above the child's shoulders. In some convertible CRSs, some lower or middle positions for the harness straps cannot be used safely forward-facing. Check CRS instructions before positioning the harness straps to be sure where they can be used safely.
There are many details about using and installing CRSs that cannot be explained here. It is best for bus, van, and other drivers transporting children to get as much education as they can on this subject.
The Ohio Department of Education plans to publish a manual for school bus drivers
in 2005 that includes more detailed information about travel safety for children.
NHTSA sponsors an eight hour training class, Child Passenger Safety Training for
School Buses, that includes hands on experience and also offers information on its
web site. There are also web sites and other resources listed at the back of this
booklet that may be helpful.
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The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) sets the recommendations that may become federal laws for vehicle safety. They continue to investigate the use of lap/shoulder belts on small buses. They have also put out warnings about the rollover danger of 15-passenger vans and prohibited the sale of vans designed to carry more than ten passengers for school transportation. Only vehicles used to transport children to and from school or school related events are affected by NHTSA school bus standards. The Department of Health and Human Services has set some higher standards for Head Start, including phasing out all vans for pupil transportation by 2006.
NHTSA recently created a new school bus sub-class called Multi-function School Activity Bus (MFSAB). It has the same school bus seating and structural requirements but does not have some of the traffic control features of regular school buses.
NHTSA testing indicates that pre-school age children should be restrained in a CRS
meeting FMVSS 213 (see below) when riding on a school bus and recommends this in
its guidelines (Guide for the Safe Transport of Preschool Age Children in School Buses).
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The rules and regulations for school buses are much stricter than for other passenger vehicles. But not all vehicles used to transport children are school buses (see Descriptions of Vehicles). Several Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) affect the safety of children in school buses, vans, and passenger vehicles.
FMVSS 208 requires that safety belts be used in all small buses and vans for all seating positions but this doesn't include large school buses.
FMVSS 209 requires that when seat belts are added to school buses that didn't come equipped with seat belts, they must be installed according to the manufacturer's instructions and retrofitted according to certain guidelines.
FMVSS 210 requires reinforcement of school bus seat frames before adding belts. This is because the seat belts are anchored to the frame and must meet strength requirements.
FMVSS 213 is for child safety restraint systems designed for children weighing up to 65 pounds. Every child safety restraint system manufactured after 1980 must be labeled with the manufacturer's identification and contact information, certification of compliance with FMVSS 213, name or model number and date of manufacture, and weight and size limitations for the child's use. Instructions for use and installation must be provided. Forward-facing CRSs must be equipped with top tether straps if manufactured since September 1999. All child safety restraint systems manufactured after September 1, 2002, must be equipped to attach to LATCH systems (see FMVSS 225).
FMVSS 222 is about compartmentalization and interior crash protection for school buses. It sets standards for seat size, materials, design, and spacing. It was amended to also apply to wheelchairs and their occupants.
FMVSS 225 is for child restraint anchorage systems (LATCH). LATCH systems
have been required on all vehicles except large school buses and non-school bus
vehicles over 8,500 pounds, since September 2002. There must be two lower and
one upper anchorage for child safety restraint systems besides the vehicle seat belts.
On a small school bus, only the two lower anchorages will be used. Only two seating
positions in small school buses and passenger vehicles are required to have LATCH
anchorages.
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Region 1 Gina Veres
Region 2 Philomena Fisher
Region 3 Kathy Wesolowski
Region 4 Lark Dickstein
Region 5 Debbie Crank
Region 6 Mary Anderson
Region 7 Brandie Keys
Region 8 Susan Laurence
Region 9 Lisa Allen
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Click here to use the CPS Technician Locator
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When any child under four years old or under 40 pounds is being transported in a
motor vehicle, the operator of the motor vehicle shall have the child properly secured
in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions in a child restraint system that
meets federal motor vehicle safety standards. This includes vehicles other than a
taxicab or public safety vehicle, and those not required to be equipped with seat belts
at the time of manufacture or assembly. Large school buses are not required by law
to be equipped with seatbelts because of the use of compartmentalization.
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Ohio Kids Are Riding Safe A web site designed for parents, healthcare professionals, school bus personnel, and child passenger safety technicians, with information and an online tutorial about travel safety for children with special needs. Updated contact information for Ohio Regional Occupant Protection Coordinators is included. For more information call 937.461.4800
Ohio Department of Education, Pupil Transportation The mission of the O.D.E. Pupil Transportation Section is to provide guidance, assistance and training to all pupil personnel and to provide programs directed toward achieving the highest level of safety, efficiency, and compliance. ODE plans to publish a manual for school bus drivers in 2005. For more information call 614.466.4230 or visit: www.ode.state.oh.us
Ohio Governor's Highway Safety Office The mission of GHSO is to save lives and reduce injuries on Ohio roads, through leadership and partnership efforts with others in traffic safety, utilizing the most innovative and efficient methods possible of managing state and federal resources. For more information call 614.466.3250 or visit: www.ohiohighwaysafetyoffice.ohio.gov
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration) NHTSA is the federal agency that sets national standards for occupant protection, which includes car safety seats. It also provides information, statistical data, technical assistance and educational materials relating to child passenger safety. Car seat recall information is available on their website as well as a locator for car seat installation check points. There are regional offices throughout the country. For more information contact the NHTSA Auto Safety Hotline: 888.DASH.2.DOT or visit: www.NHTSA.gov
Indiana University Automotive Safety Program A child passenger safety injury prevention program based at the Indiana University School of Medicine. It provides education, training, and resources on child passenger safety and transporting children with special health care needs. For more information contact 317.274.2977 or visit: www.preventinjury.org
American Academy of Pediatrics A professional organization of pediatricians involved with all aspects of child development, including injury prevention. It has published transportation-related policy statements and offers car safety seat shopping guides for conventional and special needs car seats and safety restraints. For more information visit: www.aap.org
National SAFE Kids Campaign This national organization sponsors state and
local injury prevention programs, as well as develops safety campaigns and materials.
There are 17 Ohio regional affiliates dedicated to preventing unintentional injury to
children. This organization sponsors the national child passenger safety technician
training and certification. For more information visit: www.safekids.org
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American Academy of Pediatrics, Transporting Children with Special Health Care Needs (October 1999)
NHTSA, Choosing the Correct School Bus for Transporting Pre-School Age Children (September 2001); Guidelines for the Safe Transportation of Pre-School Age Children in School Buses; School Bus Transportation of Children with Special Health Care Needs (August 2001); Analysis of Crashes Involving 15-Passenger Vans (May 2004); Child Passenger Safety Training for School Buses (participant manual)
Safe Ride News, Fifteen Passenger Vans Still Raise Concerns (July/August 2004); Bus Safety News (May/June 2003); Buckling Up Preschoolers on School Buses (July 2003)
School Bus Information Council, Key National Statistics; Key Safety Equipment Required on
School Buses
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