Heads welcome move to improve seatbelt safety

By Jonathan Irwin
KCC to enforce ruling on school buses and coaches

CHILD safety has taken a leap forward with the announcement that coaches and minibuses carrying schoolchildren are to be fitted with seatbelts, Dover head teachers welcomed the news and praised Kent County Council for insisting on the step a year ahead of a proposed new law requiring the change, Neil Slater, head of Dover Grammar School for Boys, said: "Any increase in safety standards in this area is badly needed.

"I have to compliment KCC on taking this issue so seriously by pushing ahead with it as quickly as it has." The school's own minibus has already been fitted with safety belts and Mr Slater insists any other buses hired to carry pupils must also have them fitted.

He added: "This issue is particularly important for us because we are not a neighbourhood school but one which takes its pupils from as far away as Deal and Sandwich as well as Dover.

"The majority of our 500 pupils come to school by bus and about 200 travel by contract buses."

The seatbelts will be fitted over the next 15 months.

Tom Connolly, head of St. Edmund's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Dover said: "Any action taken to further the safety of children is to be applauded."

At least 140 pupils travelled to and from his school on contract buses," he explained.

KCC's education committee also decided to phase out the practice of sitting three children on double seats in the first two terms of the new school year.

The committee will bid for an extra £245,000 from county council funds this year, and for a further £365,000 in the next to finance the scheme.

Committee co-chairman Joyce Esterson said: "We share the high priority parents give to the safety of their children and the amount of money we propose investing in this demonstrates our commitment.

"We're doing our bit and I appeal to parents to do theirs by telling their children they must wear the seatbelts where fitted," Mr Connolly agreed that schools must also educate pupils to wear the belts.

But he added: "Drivers will have a responsibility to ensure passengers use the safety belts so journeys will actually take longer because of the time it will take drivers to do that."

KCC has no power to order service buses which carry both members of the public and schoolchildren, to fit safety belts.

Mr Slater said: "I can see why operators might not think it suitable to fit belts in a bus which is constantly letting people off and on, but it's very important for buses carrying only school children which just collect the pupils then go straight to school."