Should double decked buses have seat belts fitted as compulsory?

In Scotland there is no requirement under existing legislation for double decked buses used for school transport to have seat belts fitted. This is madness. Do you think they should be compulsory, do you know of any movement to make seat belts compulsory. We buckle up daily in our cars and then put our children onto buses without belts. The person who said the law is an XXX may be right.
Additional Details
Single decked buses do have to have belts. Only double does not have to have. Some doubles are fitted with belts (so it's not impossible to do this)but this is not compulsory under law,obviously newer style vehicles. As usual it will be down to cost. The bus driver can be experienced and an excellent driver - this however does not mean safety as there are others on the road who can cause accidents. Surely it is wise to take precautions. Don't you agree the law needs to be changed?

Necrid

Only for old farts so they dont get in my way

fruitybat101

And how many accidents were there in the last year involving double decker busses? How many injuries to passengers?

And just HOW is anyone going to make kids on the top deck actually buckle up even if seatbelts were fitted?

Get real

Buslady

Actually I think it's completely insane that the UK doesnt have a nation school bus system period. I know First Student was implementing a school bus system somewhere there, but it's not nationwide. Schoolbuses are totally different from a transit bus being used as a school transport. Double deckers??? as a school bus?? who's smokin the dope man?! thats unsafe!

Connor J Garfield

Buses stick to the usual speed limits and the drivers are very good at what they do. There's no worry about seat belts because there are next to no accidents.

Firefox

To fit seat belts on buses, would mean the scrapping or rebuilding of most of them, because the floors are not strong enough and there is no anchor point by the shoulder of anyone sitting in an aisle seat.

The cost of this would run into millions and more than triple passenger travel costs over night, to cover the changes.

You would also have to ban anyone from standing up until the bus had come to a complete stop.

You would also have to reintroduce conductors in areas that no longer have them, to make sure passengers put them on.

Can't see it working!

Chewbydoo

It's all down to risk assessments again Fiona. The chance of a school bus being in an accident is very rare, particularly because the relatively short distances involved and the regularity of the journey.

Many kids get the train to school yet there are no belts on them either and the speeds are probably 3 times as great..

Do you have a particular reason for your question or do you drive the kids to school in a 4x4 and are trying to justify your own journey?

hats rock

I think all buses should have seat belts, some drivers are not that careful and while there are no collisions sometimes the bus does turn rapidly or brake sharply, last time we went on a bus the driver slammed on the brakes and my daughter slid off her chair and ended up laying under the seat in front. I used to work somewhere that dealt with a major bus company and there were several complaints regarding people who had been injured so it's more common than one may think.

stuttgart

Probably not a high priority. There are many other road safety treatments that have a higher cost benefit ratio.

why just double decker buses?

i think all buses should be fitted with seatbelts, as you said, we buckle ours in our cars every day, why should it be different for children going to school??

i also think that if people aren't wearing theor seatbelts on abus they should face the Â£30 fine as they would if they were in a car.

were i live tehre also seems to bethi stigma amongst teenagrs about wearing seatbelts in a taxi... its very strange, its the same as any other car, and yet they trust this stranger behind the wheel??

i really dont understand this.

2Negative

Sadly most people don't do anything about stuff like this until an accident has happened.

Very sad to think about and let alone say, but I don't see seat-belts becoming mandatory until a few kids have been killed in accidents. I hate to say that but based on the way allot of safety laws get passed I don't really see it happening any other way. I do hope that I'm wrong and things will change before it's to late.

stu22aus

Here's the thing.

1. Ease of movement on/off bus.

2. Maintenance and design/cost of belts relative to perceived benefits.

3. Seat belts in a bus are largely ineffective and/or unnecessary. Bus mass + speed + 90% of vehicles on the road = demolition of aforementioned vehicles. A short, sharp deceleration of any great force is rarely experienced as a passenger on a bus.

4. The only really compelling argument for seatbelts on buses revolves around rural travel and the increased speeds and likewise the possibility of rolling. Even then buses do not possess strengthened passenger compartments and are prone to deformation.

I defy anybody to demonstrate a trend of injuries associated with the lack of seat belts on buses.

UCANTCME

FOR NOW, NO LAWS AND NO MOVEMENTS AND I REALLY DON'T SEE ANYTHING CHANGING.

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