MPs decide against requiring seat belts on school buses

June 19, 2019, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

The issue of seat belts on school buses has been a hot topic for years. Following the tragic Humbolt bus collision the House of Commons transportation committee launched an investigation into the use of seat belts on all commercial buses and on school buses. In the Humbolt accident 16 people were killed and 13 injured. Almost all of them were young adults. The issue of seatbelts on school buses has been a polarizing one.

Serious accidents involving school buses are fortunately rare but do occur. In the event of accidents many passengers in the buses are injured by their bodies travelling inside the bus hitting each other, the seats or the floor/walls of the bus.

The Parliamentary Committee’s Final Report was released this month and it concluded that after examining the evidence from experts, the evidence was confusing and there is a need for further study. What became clear was that there is no single action that will increase the safety of passengers on school buses. ‘Although seatbelts would undoubtedly prevent some serious injuries or fatalities, they are not the only solution to ensuring the safety of bus passengers in Canada.”

Industry claims that the design of school busses makes them some of the safest vehicles on the roads. Thee are arguments that reinforcing the buses and adding three point harnesses could impact their ability to compartmentalize in an accident and result in more serious injuries. Mandatory seatbelts come with expenses of installation, and the expense (in time and driver cost) of ensuring the children are properly belted in while in the bus. The installation of seatbelts is a huge expense as well. These costs would all be passed on to school boards who already struggle with the enormous costs of bussing students.

Parents and concerned citizens throughout the country maintain that conducting more studies is just wasting time and life. They point to many children who have been injured over the years on buses. They don’t think that conducting more studies is the answer to the issue.

School bus safety and safety standards are a three-fold responsibility between the provinces, federal government and school boards.

In the meantime, caution should always be used when driving near school buses and you MUST STOP your car when a school bus is stopped and its red lights are flashing and STOP arm extended.

From the MTO website:

Drivers: know the rules

When driving on a road WITHOUT a median:

• drivers travelling in both directions must stop for a stopped school bus with its upper red lights flashing
• when you approach the bus from the front, stop at a safe distance to let children get on or off the bus and cross the road
• don't move forward until the red lights have stopped flashing or the bus begins to move

When driving on a road WITH a median:

• traffic coming from the opposite direction is not required to stop.

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