Framingham: Children Should Use The Seat Belts On The School Bus

Framingham Public Schools sent out a letter to parents reminding them to have their child(ren) use the seat belts on the school buses.

Most of the students on bus 15, that was involved in the crash on Thursday, did not use the seat belts installed on the school buses, according to first responders.

Ten students were taken to two hospital with minor injuries, after a car struck the bus on Edgell Road Thursday afternoon. Framingham Public Schools said there were 31 elementary students on the bus, at the time of the crash.

The driver was cited, and identified by police on Friday.

Massachusetts does not require seat belts be installed on buses, but Framingham had the seat belts installed with the last bus contract. Framingham rents buses from Durham School Services. A new 5-year bus contract is expected to be awarded in February.

Framingham is one of a handful of districts in the Commonwealth, who have seat belts on school buses for students to use. However, seat belts are not mandatory for students to use in Framingham.

Nationwide, only 6 of the 50 states required mandatory seat belts on school buses.

Does your child use the seat belt? Tell us in the comments

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Editor’s note: It is not clear based on the parents, who contact Patch if the letter went to all schools, or just parents who had children on bus 15. The letter was not published on the district’s website, as of midnight.