The National Transportation Safety Board has postponed making safety recommendations for smaller school buses after rejecting a staff report that calls for construction modifications.
At a meeting last month, the board asked the staff to revise its proposal, which studied 24 crashes involving buses that typically carry 10 to 24 passangers.
Drucella Andersen, a spokesman for the board, said about 41,000 smaller buses, or about 10 to 15 percent of the entire school-bus fleet, are in use. Most come equipped with safety belts, although they are not required to do so. Ms. Andersen said the revised report will probably focus on the design of restraining bars built in front of the buses’ front seat.