|
BELTED UP: The United World College of South East Asia and many other international schools here require all students - like these two first-grade pupils - to wear seat belts in their buses. -- PHOTO: UNITED WORLD COLLEGE OF SOUTH EAST ASIA
|
MINIBUSES that ferry children to school may have to be fitted with seat belts.
The Land Transport Authority is considering the move after looking at the experiences of other countries.
The motor industry here is being consulted in a bid to come up with a seat belt design that can be installed in smaller school buses at an affordable price.
International safety experts could be engaged as part of further studies. These studies have been narrowed down to the safety features needed for smaller buses, such as the one involved in a fatal accident on Thursday, said an LTA spokesman.
She was referring to the death of Russell Koh, eight, who was flung out of a minibus on the way to school in a collision with two cars at the junction of Yio Chu Kang Road and Gerald Drive.
In the past two years, 15 children were hurt in accidents involving school buses, but only slightly, according to the police.
The LTA did not touch on the need for seat belts in bigger buses, but in a Forum page reply last year, it said studies showed that the size and design of such vehicles allowed them to absorb the impact of collisions more effectively.
Several international schools here, however, have already acted on the issue.
The United World College of South East Asia, the Singapore American School and The Australian International School require buses ferrying their students to be fitted with seat belts.
Ms Joy Stevenson, communications director of the United World College of South East Asia, said: ' It is nothing out of the ordinary. It is simply safer and I guess, as an international school, we also carried over pre-existing rules in our respective countries... We grew up with the idea that you have to buckle up.'
Strapping up on minibuses is already compulsory in places such as Britain, according to the country's Department of Transport website.
Last November, new safety rules were also proposed for school buses in the United States, including one that required all new small buses to be equipped with belts which go across the chest and the lap, instead of the current requirement for lap-belts only.
Some local bus operators here have already outfitted their fleets with seat belts because of the requirements of international schools.
Ms Lilian Sern, 53, owner of Mei Lian Transport Services, spent $800 to $1,000 per bus to install seat belts in all her 12 minibuses at Soon Chow Workshop.
She said: 'Schoolchildren can be very mischievous and run around in the bus. The seat belts can keep them in their seats and ensure their safety.'
But when the same buses call at local schools, where using seat belts is not mandatory, the operators pack in more children un-belted and charge lower fees.
One bus operator said the fees charged for every two students from an international school is equal to those for three kids in local schools.
Singapore School Transport Association chairman Wong Ann Lin said seat belts were 'definitely a good safety measure' but operators would have to pay to have them fitted and carry fewer passengers.
A minibus, for example, would be able to seat 10 passengers belted up, instead of 15 without.
Even if seat belts become compulsory for minibuses, children may not necessarily use them, he added.
Mr Wong said: 'These bus operators might eventually not be willing to ferry the students as they will definitely be running their business at a loss.'
The costs could eventually be passed on to parents, who now pay between $65 and $175 a month.
At least one parent is all for seat belts.
Russell's father, Mr Colin Koh, had said after his son's death: 'I really hope they make seat belts mandatory because I have two other children.
'I cannot let the same happen to them.'
joolin@sph.com.sg
leepq@sph.com.sg
|
