Austin, TX
Federal investigators call for stricter enforcement of seatbelt regulations
AUSTIN, Texas — Federal investigators are urging Leander school officials to ensure the proper use of seat belts on school buses following a review of an Aug. 13 school bus crash.
In an “urgent report” issued Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board found few students were wearing seatbelts despite the bus being equipped with passenger lap and shoulder belts. Investigators concluded the Leander school district “did not take sufficient action to ensure passengers were properly belted.”
The rollover crash occurred when a Leander school district bus veered off the road along Nameless Road near Palomino Drive. 46 elementary and middle school students and one adult were aboard the bus. Following the accident, seventeen people were taken to the hospital, but all were released the next day.
Texas code requires passengers on school buses equipped with seat belts to wear them; however, video footage showed that of 42 visible students, only six were wearing their seat belts, according to investigators.
The section of Nameless Road where the bus crashed is curved, and weather conditions at the time were rainy; however, investigators said the bus left the road “for an unknown reason,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Students who were unbelted or wore only the lap portion of a seat belt were more susceptible to injuries than those who wore a seat belt across their lap, the report said.
Investigators urged Leander schools to implement enforceable policies and procedures to ensure proper seat belt usage by every student and driver on a school bus equipped with seat belts. The report recommended mandatory driver instructions and routine audits to ensure passengers are properly wearing seat belts.
In a statement to families, Tracie Franco, the district’s senior director of transportation services said Leander “appreciate(s) the NTSB’s thorough review, which offers important lessons for school districts nationwide about ensuring consistent seat belt use on school buses,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The recommendations follow statewide initiatives to improve student transportation safety.
All Texas buses must carry seat belts, but currently many older buses don’t.
A new law enacted this year, Senate Bill 546, eliminated an exception for buses built before 2018 and required districts to report by the end of the year how many buses they operate or contract lack seat belts, have only two-point seat belts or have three-point seat belts. Districts must also report the cost of transitioning their bus fleets to three-point safety belts, seat belts that cover a rider’s lap and chest.
By Jan. 1, 2027, the Texas Education Agency must outline a report for the cost to equip all state school buses with seat belts.
This conversation follows a deadly bus crash in Bastrop County on March 22, 2024, that left a prekindergarten student and a 33-year-old man dead. The school bus did not have any safety belts.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ highway system dropped two spots since 2025, and now ranks at No. 27 in the country for its cost-effectiveness and overall conditions, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2026 Highway Report.
The report assessed pavement conditions, fatalities, deficient bridges, infrastructure costs and congestion levels across the United States. Texas earned the following rankings:
- 33rd in urban interstate pavement conditions
- 21st in rural interstate pavement conditions
- 39th in urban arterial pavement conditions
- 12th in rural arterial pavement conditions
- 3rd in structurally deficient bridges
- 26th in urban fatality rate
- 42nd in rural fatality rate
- 41st in traffic congestion
“More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada, and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges,” the report said.
The full report can be found online.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Small hail peppered the Austin area as strong thunderstorms moved through Saturday.
A few of the storms dropped rain and up to pea-sized hail in San Marcos, Dripping Springs and the Austin metro area.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Williamson County around 8:15 p.m., and then canceled shortly after. However, it was enough for the Two Step Inn music festival in Georgetown to cancel shows for the rest of the evening. Event organizers say the festival will run as planned Sunday.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is monitoring the storms. We will update this post as the evening continues.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
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