On the very first school bus I ever took on my way to kindergarten, I had to wear a seat belt.

It wasn’t until two years later when I attended another school that I realized that was not a common occurrence.

For those first two years of school, my bus driver would pick me up at the end of the road every day and wouldn’t move the bus an inch until I buckled my seatbelt.

Everyone on that bus was strapped in tight just in case we were involved in an accident.

Research has consistently shown that seat belts save lives.

The Pearl River County School District is purchasing a new bus this year that will have seat belts.

While it’s just on a trial basis, it could create a domino effect wherein other school districts decide to follow the same safety precautions.

While accidents involving school buses are relatively rare, taking the added precaution couldn’t hurt.

Every year, we see reports of vehicular deaths where occupants were not wearing their seat belt, sometimes causing them to be ejected from the vehicle.

For many years, the state has mandated that all front seat passengers and drivers wear a seat belt.

But with the passage of a new law this year, all passengers of a vehicle will now be required to wear the safety devices; even on just a short trip down the road.

The supposed “nuisance” of wearing a seat belt is better than the price someone would pay if they were involved in an accident and weren’t buckled up.