The project funding will be used to outfit school buses with seatbelts. Students in Lytton and the surrounding areas travel long distances on the road to attend to school. The installation of seatbelts will make travelling on the bus safer for students.
Lytton and surrounding areas provides a unique set of challenges for students getting to school. Our area is very spread out, requiring many of our students to travel long distances by bus in order to come to school. Furthermore, our roads are steep mountain roads, which are very narrow with sharp curves. It is critical that our students have access to the highest level of safety during their travels to and from school.
The recent incident involving a school bus near 100 Mile House highlights the need for seatbelts in our school busses. Fewer injuries may have been had in that case. In the event that an incident were to occur on one of our busses, injuries have the potential to be more serious due to the nature of our roads in this area.
There has been support for the idea of implementing seatbelts on school busses from various authourities throughout BC. Premier David Eby discussed that the province will look into the idea of seatbelts on school busses, stating that “It is strange that there are no seat belts on (school) buses” in a June 24, 2024 press conference.
The BC School Trustees Association (BCSTA) back in 2019 issued a letter to then Minister of Education Rob Fleming asking for full funding to support the Transport Canada directions for changes to school bus safety “so that school districts can fully comply with the requirements”, with seat belts on school buses being the priority.
In July 2018, Transport Canada published a regulation for the optional installation of three-point seatbelts on school buses should provincial and territorial governments decide to pursue this option,” says Transport Canada.
One of the primary reasons we have not seen seat belts implemented in school busses across the province is that of cost. With support from Vision Zero, we will be able to implement this change for the betterment of our students.
Photo source: Pexels. Photo is shown for illustration purposes only and may not be an accurate representation of the project.
