Del Valle School Bus Incident — More Evidence We Need Seat Belts On School Buses

This week, Rene Nunez-Lemus, a Del Valle school bus driver, has been accused of injuring eleven students by slamming on the brakes of his bus after becoming frustrated with some of the students.  A number of the students sustained injuries severe enough to require EMS transport to the hospital.

I don’t really know what happened on that bus, but I do know that the incident — whether it was intentional or accidental — is a good reminder about why we need seat belts on school buses.  In one article about the incident, Dr. Pat Crocker, chief of staff at the Dell Children’s Medical Center emergency room stated:

There is no question seat belts keep kids from getting injured and even save lives.  They are a good idea no matter what vehicle is on the road for the kids.

Those of you that read this blog regularly know that I’m concerned about bus safety and the Texas Education Agency’s threat to the new law requiring new school buses ot have seat belts.   

While the types of incidents like the one in Del Valle are never good,  the one positive is that the incident helps put light on this problem and leads to more seat belts on buses.  That needs to happen to avoid these kids’ injuries from being for naught.

You can watch a KXAN story about the issue below: