NTSB Recommends Seat Belts On All New School Buses

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CBS/AP) — A federal transportation panel is recommending to states that all new large school buses be equipped with seat belts.

The National Transportation Safety Board approved the lap-shoulder seat belt recommendation Tuesday in Washington.

Chairman Robert Sumwalt said the agency has previously tiptoed around the issue, saying it's time to take a hard stance.

The recommendation came during a meeting about deadly school bus crashes in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Baltimore in November 2016.

Last week, a student and teacher were killed when a school bus on a field trip collided with a dump truck in New Jersey.

The board recommended that New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana and New York upgrade requirements from lap belts to lap shoulder belts.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, eight states require seat belts on large school buses.

In Massachusetts, seat belts are not required on buses but there are some school districts that have them. Last year the president of the School Transportation Association endorsed seat belts for the very first time. At that time there were six bills before lawmakers which would require them here in Massachusetts.