Federal Highway Safety Chief wants seat belts on all school buses

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There is a call for a big change on school buses. The Federal Highway Safety Chief wants seat belts to keep children safe.

The head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made that call at a transportation conference on Sunday in Virginia.

Mark Rosekind said the federal government, states, school districts and bus manufacturers need to work together to make it happen.

Rosekind said the NHTSA will push to ensure every child on every school bus has a three-point seat belt.

In the past, NHTSA said adding belts to every school bus seat would be too expensive and that buses safety records were good.

On Sunday Rosekind said seat belts are "icons of safety" and "without seat belts on buses, there is a gaping, obvious hole in our safety measures." He did not announce any action that will be taken.