> > Howard, yes, the compartment is the area between the two seets. Here's a website to look at with some crash test videos of school buses.
>
> Yes, I saw that, and it probably saved some lives in the Alabama crash. It keeps passeners from going forward. But in a roll over crash, it is not very effective. I wonder if compartments required any modification. The seats don't look much different from the ones on buses I rode in the 50's. Maybe the seat backs are higher.
>
> They still haven't said how that bus driver got out of the bus. He (or maybe she) was up on the overpass. From the looks of the bus, anyone in the driver's seat would have been killed.
> Howard

Seat backs are a little higher than they used to be, and they're better padded as well.

I'm unsure about the driver thing too; the only thing that comes to mind (pure speculation) is that the bus was balanced on the rail just long enough for the driver to get up and try to evacuate the kids out the rear emergency door. I guess we'll have to wait to find out.

Gharlane