In Britain, minibuses and coaches carrying three or more children on an organised trip must be fitted with seat belts, either three-point belts or lap belts.
The driver is responsible for ensuring that all children younger than 14 years of age wear their seat belt, while children aged 14 or more are themselves responsible for wearing their seat belt.
While adults sitting in the rear of larger minibuses and coaches are not obliged to wear seat belts, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents "strongly advises" that they are worn "for all journeys by all passengers".
In the US, three-point seat belts are required on all newly fitted small school buses under 10,000lbs. New Jersey requires lap belts on new large school buses and obliges children to use them.
There are between 350 and 475 serious bus-related injuries to children in the US each year, with a further 8,500 to 12,000 children suffering minor injuries. On average, 11 children die each year in the US inside school buses.
In the Republic, 18 people were seriously injured in coaches and minibuses in 2000, with 135 sustaining minor injuries. In 1999, one person died, 14 were seriously injured and 123 had minor injuries, while in 1998 as many as six people died in coach or minibus crashes, 13 were seriously injured and 125 sustained minor injuries, as National Roads Authority figures reveal.
In the US, litigation has been initiated against operators, owners, dealers and manufacturers for failure to provide seat belts.
The US National Coalition for School Bus Safety argues that there were some 62,000 pupil injuries in reported school bus accidents between 1991 and 1996, with at least 59 passenger fatalities.
It says that seat belts in school buses are endorsed by the American Medical Association, Physicians for Automotive Safety, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the College of Preventive Medicine, the American Association of Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery, the American Society for Adolescent Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians.
While opponents of seat belts in buses have argued that compartmentalisation provides adequate protection, the pro-seat belt lobby argue padded seats do not protect against side impact and rollover crashes, where children can be thrown about, or out of, the vehicle.
In the Republic, current regulations with regard to seat belts on school buses merely require the fitting of seat belts in all forward facing front seats in minibuses that have a gross weight not exceeding 3,500kg and were first registered after January 1st, 1992.
Under EU Directive 96/36/EC, member-states are allowed, from October 1st, 1999, to require that all seating positions in new passenger vehicles with seating for more than eight persons excluding the driver be fitted with seat belts, excluding vehicles designed to accommodate standing passengers.
Currently, the present "3:2 rule" on school buses in the Republic permits three children to sit on two seats, which can lead to overcrowding and make wearing seat belts impossible. The adoption of the EU directive would require the phasing out of this practice.
The Government Strategy for Road Safety 1998-2002, says it is "timely" that "practical ways of enhancing school bus safety should be considered, taking account of a range of concerns, including those of parents and service providers".
The Minister for the Environment and Local Government promised to bring forward proposals in consultation with the Minister for Education and Science. They were to be the "subject of a public consultation process before finalising action".
A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment and Local Government told The Irish Times that a consultation paper is "currently in the final stages of preparation and it is hoped to publish this shortly after Christmas".
US reports have shown that, while the safety of school buses could be improved, compared to other means of transport they fare very well. For instance, in 1983, while 42,500 people were killed in US traffic accidents, only 17 were travelling in school buses.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded in 1977 that strong, well-padded high-backed seats properly spaced would cushion children in a crash.
It found insufficient evidence to prove that safety belts would improve safety and it did not believe that a Federal requirement for safety belts in large school buses was warranted.
Smaller school buses of less than 10,000lbs are required to have safety belts for all passengers. Safety belts were deemed "necessary and effective" in protecting people in such vehicles, and the report encouraged "all passengers to wear their belts whenever the vehicles are in motion".
jmarms@irish-times.ie
