A case against school bus seat belts

In response to your front-page story, “Should all buses have belts?” I can tell you firsthand: They should not! On Feb. 26, 2007, my wife, Linda, a 23-year veteran school bus driver for Elgin U-46 school district, saved 22 children from her burning school bus. It took approximately three minutes from the time smoke was first detected to the bus being fully engulfed in flames. (A neighbor’s video verifies this fact.) When seconds — not minutes — counted, it would have been impossible for my wife to evacuate the 22 children (ages 8-12) in time, let alone a full capacity of 68 children on these school buses if seat belts were restraining those children.

Seat belts would create a panic, especially with poisoning, dark, smoke-filled bus. The name of the game is to get out and get out fast in an orderly evacuation, as my wife accomplished without dealing with children who are unable to undo their restraint during an emergency.

Do people realize how narrow school bus aisles are? Proper and quick evacuation requires alternate sides of the bus to enter the aisle (not all at once), as my wife commanded those children that day. My wife was a hero that day — and not a dead hero. She returned to the bus for a second look and then exited just as it burst into flames.

I personally viewed the bus after the fire was put out. The interior was a melted, black-charred hell and destroyed. My wife suffered smoke inhalation, but “Grama Bus” as our grandchildren call her, is still transporting our most precious cargo. Children restrained in seat belts would have contributed to a tragically different outcome that day.

David Wanaski

Retired Hoffman Estates police officer

Schaumburg