Bill > H2101

This bill mandates that all school buses transporting students to or from public or vocational schools must be equipped with lap-shoulder belts for every seating position by September 1, 2019, and for private or parochial schools by September 1, 2021, with these belts meeting United States Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) safety standards and requiring passengers to wear them at all times during operation. The bill also requires that instruction on the proper use of these lap-shoulder belts be included in school bus safety practices, and it amends existing laws to ensure passengers are wearing these belts when traveling in buses that are required to have them. Furthermore, it clarifies that a school bus cannot operate prior to September 1, 2019, unless it is equipped with a lap-shoulder belt system. To incentivize the installation of these safety features, the bill directs the commissioner to develop a schedule of premium reductions for motor vehicle insurance rates for school buses equipped with lap-shoulder belts approved by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), with such reductions to be promulgated before September 1, 2017, and allowing owners of already-equipped buses to apply for these reductions. Finally, the bill states that no claim for damages can arise from a school bus operator's failure to ensure a passenger was wearing the prescribed restraint system.