What do you think?

According to this article on KGW (it's an AP feed, so not sure the link will work forever... ) U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters thinks seatbelts on school buses are a good idea.

Okay then! I wonder if Mary ever rode a school bus?

Even back in the 1970's when I last regularly rode on a school bus, a seatbelt would have just been one more weapon. I can easily see a kid swinging it and whapping another kid over the head. Duh.

And since so many children have not been taught about simple manners and respect for the property of others, how many of those seatbelts would remain in working order instead of stuffed with chewing gum (the fact that it's prohibited in school and on the bus really doesn't make much difference) or cut with scissors or otherwise messed up. How often would they have to be replaced? How much would that add to the cost of keeping those buses on the road? How could we make sure kids wear them?

I understand why a person in her position would at least want to give the appearance of caring about children and safety issues, but I can't see how the idea is feasible.

It's been brought up before, too. A few years back, Senator Mark Hatfield and his wife were in a bus that wrecked. As I recall, they were banged up some, and he started talking a bit about equipping school buses with seatbelts. For a week or so, we heard about it. After that, nothing.

Can you think of a way that seatbelts would work on school buses?

My mom drove a school bus for five years. When I mentioned this to her, she laughed. She said that she knew for sure that kids would be hitting each other and vandalizing the equipment.

I wonder if anyone pointed this out to the Transportation Diva.

I think it's one of those feel-good gestures that all political parties indulge in.

A 'we care about your children' thing.

And I don't think they really do.