TRANSYLVANIA CO, N.C. (WSPA) – Some school buses in North Carolina are now being equipped with seat belts.

The seat belts are part of a state-wide initiative to help keep students safe on the ride to and from school.

Thirteen counties, including Henderson and Transylvania, are part of the new pilot program placing seat belts on buses. The seat belts are just like the ones you have in your car, and will mainly be on elementary school and special needs buses.

In order to ride the bus, students must stay in a seat belt the entire bus ride. If a student does not use the seat belt, there will a punishment based on a system instituted by the school district’s transportation department.

As older buses get taken out of rotation, new buses with seat belts will be brought in to replace them.

To make sure the pilot program is working, transportation directors will send footage from security cameras in the buses to N.C. State so they can be examined by the program creators.