Is Tennessee a state where school buses are exempt from seat belt laws?
I think so. Bus accidents of this magnitude are rare. The fact it was two buses in opposite directions even more so. The speed limit in that area I'm guessing is about 40 - 45 MPH. It's a four lane highway. The weather today was bad. It's rained since last night. Slick roads was a factor.
One thing I believe factors in. The roads in East Tennessee even in Knoxville were built when the conventional school buses were mainly used. They were shorter and had more front end protection as the engines were up front.
I live out in the sticks on a rural road and our road uses a flat nosed bus and the road really isn't suitable for it.
My personal thoughts are that every school bus should have seat belts. Even if it was only an old style lap belt, that would surely be better than having nothing at all and having kids hurtling through the air in an awful crash like this.