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Thursday, March 06, 2003 Page: 7A
According to PennDOT statistics, 734 children from the ages of birth to 18
who died in traffic-related crashes between 1996 and 2002 were riding
unrestrained. Proposed by Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, and signed into law
by former Gov. Mark Schweiker last December, new legislation will make
Pennsylvania one of 22 states with a booster seat law. In 1993, the Safety R
Bar school bus was taken to Sen. Raphael Musto’s office on Oak Street,
Pittston Township, along with a Safety R Bar video school bus tape to
reinforce the need for a state law requiring all school students to be safely
restrained on all school buses.
Here it is 2003 and all school students are not mandated by the state to be
buckled up as in all other moving vehicles. Last year, I sent letters to Sen.
Raphael Musto, Sen. Robert Mellow, Rep. Tom Tigue and many other legislators
and I addressed that the Safety State Law should be in place for all school
students from kindergarten to high school.
Why are our legislators not adopting a law to protect all students on all
school buses which I’ve addressed for many years to Sen. Raphael Musto, Sen.
Robert Mellow, Rep. Tim Tigue and many others? The state is in violation of
not protecting all school students who travel daily to and from school, plus
to sports games out of the area and locally.
Parents of school students should contact their legislators and school
districts because the state law should be on all school buses in reference to
the mandatory state law. Where did common sense go? Legislators, there is no
sense in delaying a legislative bill to protect all school students on school
buses. Why not on all transit buses?
Emily Romanczuk Harzowski
Duryea