WASHINGTON – As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) prepares to propose rulemaking on school bus seat belts and other passenger protection issues, the agency is still soliciting public remarks on the topic.

The deadline to add comments to NHTSA’s docket is Sept. 10. The docket can be accessed online at http://dms.dot.gov by clicking on “Simple Search” and entering 28103.

Available in the docket are public comments that have already been submitted and presentations from NHTSA’s seat belt summit in July.

A comment from Jack Paster, an emergency medical technician in Massachusetts, recommended that all school buses be equipped with seat belts and that their use be mandatory.

“When the cost issue comes up, please remind the regulating agencies that the cost of installation and maintenance is minimal when judged against the cost of one or more death claims,” Paster wrote.

Sandy Dobrowolski, a transportation clerk and former school bus driver in Pennsylvania, expressed her concern with evacuating students in seat belts. She noted that one of the roads in her district runs along the edge of an embankment leading to a large lake.

“As a driver, I feared going over the embankment in slippery conditions or if someone ran me off the road,” Dobrowolski wrote. “I can’t even imagine getting all 50 or more students out without seat belts, let alone with them.”

At the seat belt summit in July, NHTSA officials said that the agency’s proposed rulemaking would likely call for higher seat backs and establish performance requirements for seat belts. The proposal was targeted for early 2008.

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