New Jersey lawmakers push to improve school bus safety nationwide
Currently, only eight states require large school buses to have seat belts—New Jersey among them.
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Federal lawmakers introduced legislation Monday aimed at improving school bus safety nationwide.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.-5) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) were joined by Joevanny Vargas at East Brook Middle School in Paramus, where his daughter attended before she was killed in a 2018 bus crash that also claimed the life of her teacher, Jennifer Williamson.
Those in attendance want New Jersey’s bus safety laws to reach beyond the state, pushing for national attention on Miranda’s Law and the SECURES Act—short for “Secure Every Child Under the Right Equipment Standards.”
Miranda’s Law would prevent bus drivers with unsafe driving records from transporting children, while the SECURES Act calls for a nationwide requirement of three-point seat belt systems on school buses.
“I don’t understand why it has taken so long. This is common-sense legislation,” Vargas said. “This is not extreme. This is not experimental. This is not about politics. This is about safety.”
Currently, only eight states require large school buses to have seat belts—New Jersey among them.
