Call for seatbelt rule change after Exford Primary students were injured in a school bus crash

The Premier says mandates for seatbelts in school buses may be considered after the horror Eynesbury crash, as safety advocates push for tougher rules.

Mandates for seatbelts in school buses may be considered amid the fallout from the horrific crash at Eynesbury this week, Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged.

Safety advocates have called for tougher rules on seatbelts because the current rules do not spell out a requirement that adults ensure children on buses use them.

The Department of Transport and Planning recommends that “as a minimum children should use the seatbelts provided” although there is no provision for any adult to make sure they do so.

The responsibility lies on the passenger, not the driver, to ensure they are wearing a seatbelt.

Mr Andrews said the government “might have a very close look” at mandates but wanted to see more information about the crash as investigators did their work.

Community road safety advocate Donald Gibb says ‘the benefits of seatbelts are undoubted’. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“It’s important to establish the facts first, and then have a close look,” he said.

“See whether there’s more that we can do. A different and better system to keep our kids safe.”

Mr Andrews said a key issue was whether mandates would work if bus drivers had to enforce the policy by themselves.

“If the bus has seatbelts then you should wear the seatbelts and you’re required as a passenger to do that,” he said.

“There’s difficulty though, however, putting an onus on the driver to make sure that everyone’s wearing a seatbelt.

“The bus wouldn’t go very far, they’d have to stop (when) every new passenger came on. There are a whole lot of practical issues here.

“But if there’s more we can do then of course, we should learn from this incident and see if we can make further changes.”

Community road safety advocate Donald Gibb, who was one of the key figures behind the introduction of Victoria’s mandatory seatbelt laws, said the Exford Primary crash was a “reinforcement” that it should be mandatory for children to wear seatbelts on buses.

“Irrespective of the distance, the benefits of seatbelts are undoubted,” Mr Gibb said.

“It’s such a simple precaution to take. There are very horrific injuries when seatbelts are not worn.”

Seatbelts have been installed on 1143 of 1365 free regional school buses. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Victorian rural school buses started being fitted with seatbelts from about 2013, with a 2018 mandate requiring retro-fitting of old buses and seatbelts in all new buses.

As of March 2023, seatbelts have been installed on 1143 of 1365 free regional school buses, “greatly improving the safety of school buses on the road”.

This has left 222 buses without belts.

Safe Transport Victoria is currently reviewing rules which require seatbelts to be fitted and worn on school buses, but there is no legal enforcement.

However, drivers are trained that they have a duty of care to let passengers know that the law requires they be worn but they are exempt from monitoring or enforcing the wearing of seatbelts.

On Wednesday, the Department of Education referred queries on the issue of bus seatbelts to the Department of Transport and Planning who said it would be “inappropriate to comment further while investigations are underway”.

Premier Daniel Andrews also declined to comment.

Dr Chris Lowe, chief executive office of Bus Association Victoria, said the driver “is not responsible for ensuring everyone has their seat belt on, because they’re driving the bus”.

“The child is responsible for their own safety – they have to put the seatbelts on because they save lives,” he said.

“But in the end it’s up to them and if they are not putting on a seatbelt they are putting their lives at risk”.

“The rules we have around bus safety are satisfactory, they’re practical, but that’s not to say they can’t be improved.”

Exford Primary principal Lisa Campo has for many years been warning students to wear seatbelts on the bus. Picture: Mark Stewart

Dr Lowe, whose organisation represents 300 of the state’s 305 bus companies that provide government school bus services, said there was an extensive education campaign in schools focusing on the importance of wearing seatbelts.

For many years, Exford Primary principal Lisa Campo has been warning students to wear seatbelts on the bus, with students regularly reminded of safety rules telling them that: “Everyone needs to wear their seatbelt at all times while on the bus (bags off)”.

Parents have also told the Herald Sun there were regular reminders in school assembly about the need for seatbelts to be worn.

Mr Gibb said the Exford Primary accident was the “second major bus accident with a truck in less than 12 months and it’s essential for teachers, principals, drivers all adhere to this safety device”.

He said seatbelts prevented an “absolute tragedy” when a bus full of Loreto College students were involved in a collision in Bacchus Marsh last September.

Mr Gibb called the Loreto bus crash “miraculous” for the lack of fatal injuries caused in the incident.