Online poll favours school bus seat belts

An overwhelming 91.7 per cent of people who voted in The Times' online poll think that seat belts should immediately be introduced on school transport vehicles.

Only 6.87 per cent disagreed with the introduction of the seat belt on school vans and 1.39 per cent said it was not yet opportune to do so.

Respondents posting comments said this should have been done years ago since "children are the most precious thing we have". One said seat belts would help regulate the number of children boarding the vehicles while the majority of those favouring the use of seat belts commented that bus drivers should drive more carefully when carrying schoolchildren.

One pro-seat belt respondent asked if there was any specific school transport. "Most of the time you see minibuses racing against time in the morning and in the afternoon," he said.

A respondent who voted against commented that seat belts on school vans and buses were very dangerous. "If the vehicle is involved in an accident it would take much longer to free the children. In the United States, only children with special needs are strapped in and seat belts are located in the front rows of the bus by the driver. Instead, back rests have been raised to support students' heads and seats were installed closer together to avoid children slipping in between the seats in case of an accident."