Changes to the law regulating the use of seat belts on minibuses are expected to be published “in the coming weeks”.

A spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry told the Times of Malta that the legal amendments, which would address the issue of vehicles that transported schoolchildren but did not have seat belts, had been drafted and would be published over the next few weeks.

Parents of young children last year expressed concern at the fact that some of the minibuses being used to transport students to and from school were not equipped with the safety belts.

As a result, the young children would often be thrown off their seats whenever the driver had to brake abruptly, they had said. At the time, Transport Malta had announced it would be looking at legal ways to ensure that all school minibuses would have seat belts.

According to the law, all vehicles must have seat belts. However, minibuses that were manufactured before 1998 and coaches built before October 2001 are exempt, which means they can still carry schoolchildren.

There are about 58 vehicles that are exempt by law from having to be equipped with seat belts. That amounts to almost five per cent of all vehicles in their category.

The issue had sparked controversy, to the point that Education Minister Evarist Bartolo had called on the transport authorities to ensure that all children were safe when being transported to and from school.

Parents had also expressed their concerns via various social media groups saying, among other things, that, despite the constant encouragement by the school authorities to make use of transport services, they were reluctant to do so because they felt their children would be in danger.

Transport industry sources had told this newspaper when the controversy was raging that installing seat belts in minibuses would cost about €400 per vehicle, including the issue of a certificate by a qualified engineer.