Law on seatbelts

[LDriver]

Does your country have a strict law on wearing seatbelts? I see that lorry drivers and bus drivers don't wear them. Private car passengers wear them but not bus passengers. Why is this so?

 

[Dodge Doll]

I know why there isn't seatbelts on busses, but as for the trucks, lorries, and bus drivers, well, as far as I'm aware, they're breaking the law.

I know that Canada has really strict laws about seatbelts, and cell phone use/texting, too.

 

[lucky]

Where I am, the seat belt law applies to all passengers of the cars. As to buses, the requirement appears to apply only to the driver and the passengers of the first row.

 

[Jess28]

Yeah I wondered the same thing, we have to wear them in our own vehicles but they don't have them or make you wear them in a public bus. I know my kids school buses have seatbelts but the kids are not made to wear them?

 

[DNADriver]

Basically buses are so big that the risks of them going over are small. The seats are supposed to help compartmentalize them, keeping kids from flying around.

However I don't like the idea. Laws are strict here, and I think that's as it should be.

 

[hotrodSteve]

The driver and all passengers in cars and trucks have to wear seat belts here, and there is a no-tolerance policy for non-compliance. I believe seat belts have to be worn in school buses, too, but I'm not sure.

 

[MaximumSpeed]

In my state, seat belts are mandatory, as long as the vehicle has them. The few vehicles that do not have them are large vehicles such as the previously mentioned buses.

 

[Dodge Doll]

In North America, seatbelts are not used on busses, specifically NOT on school busses... and the reasoning might surprise you.

First off, kids are "bouncy" creatures: a fall that would break your arm will likely only bruise a child.

Busses are nothing more than tin cans on wheels . It's sheet metal over a frame, and there's next to NO side impact protection in a collision: the children on a bus will sustain FEWER injuries if they're not anchored to a seat in a collision.

And then there's the icing on the cake..... an accident with a fire. Seatbelts are notorious for being uncooperative in emergency situations, and younger children may not be able to free themselves and unbuckle to seek safety.

The bottem line is that it's actually safer NOT to be belted in, on a bus.... the risk of injury is less severe and more likely survivable than if you were.

 

[LDriver]

That's a good point, Dodge. This might surprise you but in the Philippines nobody wear seatbelts. When they were trying to impose a law many drivers insisted that it's even more dangerous because like you said, they'd be like trapped by the seatbelt.

 

[hotrodSteve]

In my state wearing a seatbelt is mandatory. If you're stopped, there are no warnings. You get a ticket. I know this probably is not a popular view, but I believe wearing a seatbelt should be up to the individual.

 

[CherryRed]

My state has strict seatbelt laws and even hold seatbelt check points a couple times a year. The buses don't have them because studies showed it's safer for them NOT to have seatbelts.