L’Observateur / June 21, 2000

DEAR EDITOR: “Zero Tolerance for Unbuckled Kids” is a sign that we are now seeing at schools and various other locations within the communities of the River Parishes. There is no question that seat belts are necessary and needed forour children. As a doctor of chiropractic, I see numerous children eachyear who have been injured unnecessarily because of no seat belts or restraints.

Unfortunately, the largest means of transportation for our children is the yellow school bus that provides them with transportation to school and to their home location. As we know, it is illegal for the driver of the schoolbus to operate the vehicle without a seat belt on However, the 50-to-70 pound child seated some 1-2 feet to the rear of the school bus driver is not provided with a seat belt, a shoulder device, an air bag or any other device to properly prevent that child from serious injury in a collision.

As we have all seen with the horrible bus crash on Mother Day 1999, where the bus driver survived his injuries due to a seat belt while the other passengers were ejected through the windows and killed.

Seat belts do prevent death and injuries in buses. The time has come forparents, teachers and health-care providers to stand up and say enough is enough, put seat belts on school buses and put seat belts on public tranportation buses.

As a doctor of chiropractic and a parent of three, I know it is time for us to get our priorities straight. If we can go to the moon and fund star warsmissile defenses, we can find funding for seat belts on school buses.

Robert R. Dale, D.C. LaPlace

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