NORTH ISLAND, B.C. – Students might one day be able to buckle up while riding the bus to and from school.
Manager of Operations and Maintenance with School District 85, Darby Gildersleeve, said the district’s busses are currently not equipped with seat belts.
However, he said installing seat belts on busses has come up within SD85.
“That is of interest to School District 85. We are looking at that subject right now, whether it’s even possible or feasible to retrofit any of our current fleet with seat belts,” Gildersleeve told MyTriPortNow.com.
He said that when it comes to the amenities on school busses, Transport Canada is the governing body.
“There’s also some impact from regulations in our own province of British Columbia,” Gildersleeve said.
“With respect to underage passengers…it’s the responsibility of the driver to be buckled up and things (regulations) like that.”
Gildersleeve said he’s not aware of any specific concerns from parents, but the district will continue to look into the topic, to see if any changes could be made.
“I think we’re gonna see that this topic is going to be front and centre over the next little while.”
Down in Campbell River, School District 72’s board chair Richard Franklin stated that the issue has been raised by one of the board’s trustees.
Franklin said right now, if they were to install seat belts on busses, they would not be in compliance with Transport Canada, which could cause a strain on the district.
-With files from Troy Landreville
