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Panel, NTSB and students press committee for seat belts on school buses; sponsor narrows timeline while addressing retrofit cost concerns
Summary
On Feb. 14 the committee heard testimony in favor of HB 134, which would require lap‑shoulder belts on large school buses in Maryland. Witnesses including the NTSB and a student who rides a local bus described crashes and injuries; sponsors and industry raised retrofit and funding questions and asked for studies on cost and implementation.
Delegate Joseline Tavares told the Environment and Transportation Committee on Feb. 14 that House Bill 134 would require passenger lap‑shoulder belts in new large school buses and phase implementation to balance safety and affordability.
“This year we made a minor adjustment delaying implementation until after 2029 and included an amendment to protect school bus drivers while keeping the core of the bill intact,” Tavares said. She said the bill responds to NTSB investigations showing that compartmentalization alone can be insufficient in rollovers and severe lateral impacts.
Testimony in support included Kristen Poland, deputy director of the Office of Highway Safety at the National Transportation Safety Board, who described multiple crashes where lap‑shoulder belts “would have lessened injuries and saved lives.” Poland said belts protect against ejection and reduce injurious impacts in rollovers and side‑impact crashes.
Seventeen‑year‑old Juliana Nuñez (testifying as a student witness) described two incidents in which she struck the seatback or was thrown from her seat while riding a school bus and urged the committee to require lap‑shoulder belts for students.
Representatives of the University of Maryland Carey School of Law public health law clinic also urged the committee to adopt the bill with a technical fix: they noted a drafting error affecting the location of a driver immunity provision and recommended a targeted amendment.
Committee members asked practical questions about cost and enforcement. Delegates asked whether seats can be retrofitted and who would ensure belts are used. The sponsor and witnesses said bus manufacturers such as Bluebird now offer three‑point seat belts at no extra cost on new buses, and retrofitting older buses is possible but could cost “tens of thousands” per vehicle. To reduce operational concerns, the bill includes training and strikes driver criminal liability for failure to secure student compliance; the sponsor said liability protections and training amendments are part of the package.
No formal vote occurred during the hearing; the sponsor said she will work with stakeholders to refine implementation language, obtain retrofit cost estimates and address drafting errors flagged by the public health clinic.
