Ontario Wants to Review Seatbelts in School Buses Following Accident

By KEITH LESLIE

TORONTO (CP) – Ontario’s Liberal government asked Transport Canada Wednesday to release the latest studies on seatbelts in school buses following an accident in Brampton, Ont., that left several children injured.

But an official with the federal agency said all studies show that children are much safer in buses that are designed to protect them in the event of an accident than they would be with seatbelts holding them rigidly in place.

“If there’s a head-on collision, the children slide right into the seat in front of them, which acts almost like a baseball mitt, and pushes the child back. Everything is very flexible and fluid in that situation,” said Transport Canada’s Fiona MacLeod.

“If you see them with a lap belt on, their lower body is restrained and you see their whole upper body go at a much greater impact into the back of the seat in front, and can end up with more head injuries.”

Ontario Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield said she wanted to review the seatbelt issue once again because of Wednesday’s accident in Brampton, just north of Toronto.

“We just can’t not look at it again in light of an incident like this,” Cansfield told reporters.

“We can’t say that just because it’s safe, that’s it. That’s not the answer I would want as a parent.”

School buses, unlike cars, are specially designed to protect children, and there are fears that seatbelts could make it more difficult to free the kids after an accident.

But Cansfield said she wanted to look at the latest data from Transport Canada and talk about seatbelts in school buses with her counterparts in other provinces and Ottawa.

“I think it’s important because they are the regulator that the research that they are constantly doing should be available to us,” she said.

Former Conservative Transportation Minister Frank Klees said he wanted to know why the province had not acted on a 2005 coroner’s recommendation to install safety restraints on school buses for all children under 73 pounds.

“It’s interesting that the provincial government has not moved on those recommendations,” said Klees.

“Why the government has chosen not to do anything about that I do not know.”

NDP Leader Howard Hampton said Wednesday that the provincial law requiring one seatbelt for every passenger in a vehicle should also apply to school buses.

“What’s the rationale for treating school buses, many of which are in fact mini-vans, differently,” asked Hampton.

“I think that’s a question that needs to be answered.”

Ontario school buses transport about 800,000 children every day, and Cansfield said they have a very good safety record.

“There’s no question in my mind that bus drivers always put children’s safety first and foremost,” she said.

“But I think it’s important (after) this incident that we review that (seatbelt requirement).”