Wednesday, 26 May 2021 07:55

Petition for seat belts

Written by  Staff Reporters
A petition to get seat belts installed on school buses has been presented to Parliament. A petition to get seat belts installed on school buses has been presented to Parliament.

A petition to get seat belts on school buses has been presented to Parliament.

Petition organiser, Waitaki Valley farmer Philippa Cameron, says in her district she talked to a bus driver who won't put five, six and seven year-olds in the front seats.

"That poor bus driver feels responsible for their safety so she puts them further back so they won't fly through the front."

The petition received 6,500 signatures in four weeks and is backed by Federated Farmers, Rural Women New Zealand and St John NZ.

Cameron doesn't expect overnight change but wants to see a plan for staged implementation.

That could start with the Ministry of Education requiring, from a given date, that any company tendering for a school route must use buses fitted with seat belts, she says.

The petition was received by National MP Jacqui Dean who pledged to put it before MPs.

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