Seat Belt Laws - School Trip

[MacLeods]

My son is due to go on a school trip in the morning in to the city, its his first trip so i am naturally anxious. However Im now sick with worry as when i asked a parent on the way home if the bus had seat belts she thought not.

 

If this is the case Im horrified, i have googled seat belt laws for SA but as always, you never get a straight answer ??

 

Does anyone know ? Im not sure if its outside hire or an actual school bus as this may make a difference ??

 

I may have to throw a sicky as he isnt getting on a bus without seat belts - end of.

 

thanks

Michelle

[Sallyh]

I am sorry to say but I'd take the sicky option.

 

I cannot believe the state of the school buses you see around on the roads and always think to myself I ought to complain to whichever school / company is responsible for the bus.

 

Maybe we can all do that. Start commenting on the state of buses. I saw an absolutely shocking one on the weekend.

 

I am sure not all schools are the same but it's a good reason IMHO for getting involved with the PTA and trying to make a change from the inside.

 

Well, that or homeschooling.

[Guest Tina P]

I don't think they do, I went on a day trip with school and there wasn't any seat belts on the bus and the kids were sat 3 to a double seat !

 

It was and is a worry !

[Sallyh]

Oh its just disgusting isn't it. And they have the audacity to complain about English carseats!!!!

 

I LOVE Adelaide and wouldn't live anywhere else, but road safety and safety of children in general here has more inconsistency than I am happy with.

 

Like I say. Get involved with the schools, and make changes from the inside. I guess write letters to MPs as well.

[Guest cornish Busdriver]

If the school is charting a bus from torrens or southlink the it will be a normal bus that does not have seat belts as buses are not required to have them fitted.

However i do beleive that tour coaches do have them fitted.

We carry thousands of kids and adults everyday without seatbelts so dont worry.

[Guest andigil]

The school my kids go to has a policy of only using buses that are fitted with seat belts, best to check with school.

[Guest seekingsunshine]

its so scary isnt it! mine have only been on trips with kindi so far, and they have always had seatbelts.

 

i know that the school they are going to uses coaches which dont always have seatbelts i agree with the above posters, I would either pull a sicky or i would take your son to where he has to go yourself. thats what i will be doing , driving to wherever the trip is lol! no way i would let my kid get on a bus without seatbelts, but wouldnt want them to miss out either.

 

i agree with sallyh this is something we should actively do something about...so that it actually changes!

[Guest m.jephcott]

Hi

My son has been on 2 school trips, the first one the coach didn't have seat belts and we were informed, I reluctantly let him go. The second was on coaches with seat-belts, he told me they had to wear belts but the driver didn't bother. I would check with the school, and if your not happy then don't let him go. I also know that kindy did use a bus with seat-belts out of choice, the buses cost more but a price worth paying.

[Guest cornish Busdriver]

I know im probally gonna get nailed for this BUT ffs talk about wrapping kids up in cotton wool.

What ya gonna do when they start to use public transport that doesnt have seatbelts put helmets, knee and elbow pads on them.

We carry thousands of kids everyday without any injurys except for the injurys inflicted by there mates when there messing around.

Dont spoil your kids day out with there friends by being so over pretective, its gonna be good enough and safe enough for there friends and there no-way any school would take a chance on kids getting injured.

[Guest seekingsunshine]

sorry cornish busdriver but i dont agree lol! the newer coaches seem to have seatbelts fitted as standard its just the older coaches that are lacking and these should be brought up to date i think...

 

i dont think its silly to worry about this...safety laws and regulations evolve like everything else...and whats considered good enough by some people for their kids might not be good enough for other people! probably half the parents dont even realise the coaches dont have seatbelts!!!! perhaps the schools are just saving money as an above poster said, kindis pay more to get coaches with seatbelts... i would much rather pay a little more for peace of mind and to know that my kids had at least some protection...

 

i havent ever really used public transport apart from the train, and when my kids are older until they get to a certain age i guess i would prefer to drive them around myself, which is no trouble to me

[Diane]

Never had safety belts on busses or coaches when I was a kid... Husband's school double decker actually 'fell over' in a ditch on the side of the road: worst injury suffered was to the contents of the tupperware container containing the results of his home economics lesson....

[ShouldIStayOrShouldIGo]

In Australasia, school buses over 3.5 tonnes are usually not fitted with seat belts and were not designed to have seat belts fitted. Retrospective fitting of seat belts to these buses is usually not possible for a number of reasons:

In the event of a crash, it is unlikely that the seats and flooring of many early model buses could withstand the additional loads exerted if seat belts were fitted.

 

In some buses, it may be possible to strengthen the underfloor structure to allow at least twopoint seat belt anchorages to be installed, albeit at considerable expense and with dubious safety outcomes.

 

The optimum distance between seats equipped with seat belts needs to be approximately 85 centimetres. If seats are spaced closer, as is the case in many older buses, the possibility and severity of head, neck and spinal injuries are increased.

[Guest guest3462]

I worry about this too and both trips my daughter has been on I got on the bus and fastened her seatbelt for her. But I do remember catching the school bus in the uk and either sitting upstairs on the ledge of the upper windscreen or being crammed in so tight you miss your stop cos you can't get out lol! Not saying I would let my children on a bus in those conditions but it didn't worry me when I was a kid!!!

[Guest SA Great]

I'm sorry guys but FFS what is wrong with people these days. Kids are so wrapped in cotton wool that when they go out in the real world most of them can't cope. When I was at school I dont think seat belts had been invented. I cant believe you are worried sick about such a trivial thing. Now waiting for the barrage of abuse!! LOL

[Guest guest3462]

My gosh I remember backpacking in India and riding on the back of a moped with 5 people on it- no helmets and having a great time!! Wouldnt do it now mind but never thought twice about it then! (sorry to go off thread there but it just made me reminisce)

[Guest SA Great]

My point exactly Julia. Nice one. I saw 6 on a motorbike in Bali, but they were all wearing seat belts (wink wink)

[Lazy Cow]

If I remember correctly there were a couple of horrible accidents involving school bus trips a few years ago. I thought they then introduced something to ensure that new school buses would have to be fitted with seat belts (amongst other things) but mainly for rural areas. Old buses are exempt, I think, because they might not be suitable for retrospective fitting.

 

I think we're getting there...but it might take a while. In the meantime, if the bus has seat belts then the kids must use them (apparently it's a legal requirement?) but lots of buses just don't have them.

 

I don't think SA is particularly '40 years behind the times' except in driving habits. For example, drink-driving is only really now being seen as unacceptable rather than ok, if you haven't far to go lol and I think seat belts are the same.

 

I didn't like my kids travelling without seat belts and have always asked, and made my feelings known...but still allowed them to travel! Sounds mad but I try to remember it is statistically a safe way to travel and not let my desire to wrap them in cotton wool spoil a day with their friends.

 

Let's hope your son's bus arrives WITH seat belts

LC

[Misplaced]

My eldest in the uk travels 16 miles by bus to school every day - it's your normal everyday bus no seat belts.

 

Do I worry about him NO if I did I'd be sending him in body armour whenever he goes out just in case a car knocked him down or someone stabbed him or there was a great storm of man eating bees!!!

[Guest needtogonow]

I don`t think any of these parents are overeacting. You would not want your child to ride in a car without a seat belt so why should it be any different on a bus, especially with the poor standard of driving over here.

[Guest m.jephcott]

Buses and coaches do crash, when I was 18 I was in a bus crash and minor injuries sustained by those at the back. Just before we left the UK a coach rolled on the motorway between Oxford and London and only one person was injured. I agree that kids should not be wrapped in cotton wool and that teenagers should be allowed to travel on public transport, but young kids are very light and in the event of an emergency stop could travel quite a distance off of there seat. My 4 year old got a bruise on her head when we were on a bus recently, that stopped at the last minute.

[tinkertailerdog]

I think that opinions are different when talking about different age children. I would not be happy putting my 5 yr old on a bus with no seat belt. Also saying that ' in my day ' nobody wore seat belts is not a great comment. The reason that nobody wore them in those days is because people had not done any research in to car/bus safety. People died regularly from head injuries etc etc.

I think as said before it is really important to help the schools insist on buses with seatbelts and unless we pull our fingers out then it will never change and neither will safety.

Unfortunatly, having seen many results in hospitals of people and children not wearing seat belts, I know which side I am on.

[Guest Guest5035]

What ya gonna do when they start to use public transport that doesnt have seatbelts put helmets, knee and elbow pads on them.

.

 

My thoughts excatly CBD

 

stevo

[Guest Guest5035]

I would not be happy putting my 5 yr old on a bus with no seat belt. .

 

i'm with CBD on this one, no state transport buses have them, but would yourself travel on a state bus with no seatbelt, with a 5 year old

 

 

 

stevo

[Guest cornish Busdriver]

Even if buses and coaches are fitted with seats belts its still upto the person if they wear them or not.

It's not law or compulsery for passengers to wear them.

[newlife]

Also saying that ' in my day ' nobody wore seat belts is not a great comment. The reason that nobody wore them in those days is because people had not done any research in to car/bus safety. People died regularly from head injuries etc etc.

 

 

I agree with this comment, when I was younger it was considered ok for children to travel in a car without seatbelts/child seats, I bet you dont let a child travel in your car now without ensuring they are properly seated and buckled up! We have now progressed from those times and seatbelts have been proven to save lives!

I believe it should become compulsory for all schools/clubs to only hire busses/coaches that have seatbelts.