Transport Canada currently applies 37 federal safety standards to the design and
construction of school buses manufactured in or imported into Canada. These standards
address such safety features as brake systems, lighting, emergency exits, seat strength
and padding, and tires.
Federal standards currently call for highbacked seats made of soft, energy-absorbing
materials to retain occupants in their place in the event of an accident. Information from
all types of school bus collisions demonstrates that the current school bus design
provides a high level of protection to occupants.
Based on its accident research analysis, Transport Canada has determined that
seat belts may actually adversely affect the safety of children on school buses. For
example, school bus crash tests conducted by the department revealed that lapbelted
occupants would be more likely to sustain serious head and neck injuries than would
unbelted occupants in frontal collisions.
The department also believes that combination lap and shoulder belts could pose
problems, because they cannot be adjusted to safely restrain smaller children and any
slackness could injure a child. In addition, these seat belts would require the
presence of stiff seats for installation, which could cause injury to an unbelted child.
To ensure that safety regulations provide a high level of protection to school bus
occupants, Transport Canada continually analyses school bus accident data and reviews
standards regularly to take into account emerging safety-related issues.
Contact:
Dan Kingsbury
Communications, Ottawa
(613) 993-0055
This document may be made available in alternative formats for persons with
visual disabilities - call (613) 990-2366.
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