Nationwide Recall of 50,000 School Buses – What You Should Know

It’s hard to imagine that you have to keep your eyes out for recalls on products that you don’t even own – but in this case, you should.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has stated that more than 50,000 school busses are being recalled due to insufficient seat backing that could harm children in the event of a crash.

School Bus Recall Information

All of the busses involved in the recall were manufactured by Thomas Built and have seats installed in them which were manufactured by SynTec Seating Solutions. The seat manufacturer has filed a recall for about 1.2 million seats – meaning approximately 50,000 school busses are equipped with the seats.

The seats have been unsafe for passengers in the event of a crash as the padding in the back would not provide “sufficient impact absorption.” The seats were manufactured with styrene blocks in the areas around the steel frame which would likely cause injury if one of the busses containing these seats is involved in an accident.

The recall does not place the busses out of service and instead, they’ll be worked in for resolution as they can. With the school year in full swing – your child could be riding a bus that has the recalled seats installed.

School Busses Involved in Recall

According to the NHTSA the recall affects 53,528 school busses across the nation. Specifically, the busses involved are Thomas Built and include the Saf-T-Liner EFX, Minotour, Saf-T-Liner C2, and the Saf-T-Liner HDX as well as busses equipped with the SynTec S3B and S3C seats manufactured by SynTec Seating Solutions.

If you are concerned your child is riding in one of the recalled busses, we advise you to contact your child’s school or transportation company and inquire. Keep in mind that the recall is not mandated to put any bus out of service, but you can inquire about whether or not your child is riding one and the timeframe in which they expect the seats to be brought up to safety standards.

If your child is riding one of the busses, you may want to consider alternate transportation means. The nationwide recall will take time to rotate busses in and out for necessary repairs.

Grace Wells

Grace Wells grew up in the kind of town where no one locked their doors and parents felt safe letting their kids wander. Things have changed a lot since then. As a mother today, Grace has to worry about so much more than skinned knees and hurt feelings.

Grace believes the best way to keep kids safe is to stay informed. She hopes that her work at Kids Safety 101 makes a difference in children’s lives so that they can grow up as carefree as she did.

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