One of the main reasons cited for not implementing seat belts was cost, but since when have the authorities started to believe that cost is a consideration over safety?

Decades ago, the traffic authorities here were the first in the region to implement a tough policy of requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. There was strong protest as helmets were costly, but we did it anyway and many lives were saved.

Because of cost considerations, we have gone against logic and personal safety and allowed workers to be transported by lorry. We must not forget that even low-wage foreign workers are human beings. They make a significant contribution to our economy and they have families and loved ones at home.

Closer to home - and many residents can attest to this - public buses that leave my estate in Bukit Panjang for the city every morning are always packed like sardines. I cannot help but wonder what would happen to the passengers if the bus were to meet with an accident while on the highway into the city.

While I agree it is impractical and not cost-effective to have seat belts on public buses, it is dangerous for the authorities to allow public bus operators to overload buses with passengers. Overloading is dangerous and can kill.

While it takes years to build a new rail line to link an estate to the city, it takes only a couple of months to order extra buses to meet increased demand.

By giving out licences to operate a monopoly within an estate, the authorities can monitor the passenger load each month to ensure a minimum number of buses is deployed on each service to prevent overloading during peak periods.

I hope the authorities will look into this and not use cost as a consideration and compromise safety standards.

Syu Ying Kwok