Halachic Musings
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman
The look of that crumpled school bus sends a chill down the spine of every parent. Three of the children were in fourth grade, one was in kindergarten, and one in the first grade. It happened in Woodmore, but it could easily have happened in Woodmere, too.
The tragedy involving the death of five children in a school-bus incident in Tennessee was horrifying. In and of itself, the tragedy was bad. It was additionally compounded by the fact that some of the deaths could have been prevented if school buses had seatbelts.
But we don’t have laws requiring the wearing of seatbelts on school buses.
According to NHTSA national statistics, each year, on average, 133 people die from school-transportation-related accidents. Eight percent of those deaths involve the passengers. Twenty-one percent involve pedestrians, and 71 percent involve occupants of other vehicles. This says nothing of the injuries. But the numbers do not matter, as we could be saving more lives each year.
From a halachic point of view, all poskim who address the halachos of seatbelts rule that wearing them is an out-and-out halachic obligation (See Shevet HaKhasi Vol. V #241, Menuchas Emes, by Rav Mordechai Gross, Vol. IV #10, Responsa Nuta Gavriel, oral ruling of Debreciner Rav, z’l, to this author, and Nesivos Chaim by Rav Asher Zelig Mirsky Shaar #2.) This would clearly indicate that we should be doing this on school buses as well.
And yet, the law in New York State is that seatbelt use is up to each school district. In many states in this country, there is not even a law that the school buses need to be equipped with seatbelts.
Some believe that the reason our kids are being put at risk is because the school buses are paid for by the states. They make legislation when it comes to other people having to pay for things, but when it comes to their own spending, they don’t want to have to keep to the laws. Others, however, believe that there are no laws because funding crossing guards may save even more lives.
Is The Obligation Biblical?
The obligation appears to be a biblical one predicated upon the verse, “v’nishmartem me’od b’nafshoseichem—and you shall be very careful regarding yourselves” (Devarim 4:9). It is a mitzvah for the driver to command all his passengers, both seated in the front and back, to put on their seatbelts (Shevet HaKhasi).
There is another factor. If children are made to wear seatbelts on school buses, they will be more conscientious about doing so in cars as well. Thus, there is an educational component, too.
Statistically, if someone makes sure to always wear a seatbelt, one can reduce the chance of dying by 54%. What is perhaps a shocker is that passengers who do not wear seatbelts in the backseat cause additional risks to those who are traveling in the front seat. There is a 500% increase in deaths to the front passenger when the back passenger does not wear a seatbelt. For school buses, researchers claim that we can reduce half of the deaths of schoolchildren if we were to implement laws requiring their use.
People are afraid of living in Eretz Yisrael because of their fear of terrorism. Yet, it is much more likely to die in the United States on account of traffic accidents. One in 40,000 people die in the United States on account of traffic accidents. Wearing a seatbelt will reduce that risk by half.
Two More Mitzvos
The mitzvah of wearing a seatbelt is not just limited to “v’nishmartem” (Devarim 4:9). The verse later on (Devarim 4:15), “Rak hishamer lecha” is understood by most poskim to comprise a second mitzvah (See Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita Shaar HaTeshuvos #25). There is also a third mitzvah, “V’chai ba’hem—And you shall live by them” (Vayikra 18:5).
The Ben Ish Chai writes that a person should make every effort to ensure the general safety of himself and those around him (Parashas Pinchas year cycle #2). The Turei Zahav in his commentary to Choshen Mishpat (427:10) cites a midrash on Shir HaShirim that when one does this and protects himself from dangers and damage, not only is he protected, but he receives extraordinary credit for the mitzvah, too.
We should be pushing our legislators to change the laws regarding school buses and make sure that the obligation to wear seatbelts is reinforced—even though the state would be paying for it. v
The author can be reached at Yairhoffman2@gmail.com.