Proposed new belt-up law for school buses – have your say
28 September 2010
A cross-party Committee of Assembly Members has begun scrutinising a proposed new law that will compel local authority or governing body provided school transport to be fitted with seatbelts.
The Safety on Learner Transport (Wales) Measure will introduce a raft of safety measures for school transport.
These will include:
the fitting of appropriate seat belts;
using only single deck vehicles;
using buses manufactured after a certain date;
the fitting of CCTV and meeting the conditions of operation set out by the Welsh Ministers;
using vehicles which meet the “yellow buses” specification and the standards of such buses;
providing the relevant standards of driver training set out by Welsh Ministers;
carrying out safety risk assessments set out by the Welsh Ministers;
the provision of staff to supervise school buses; and
in relation to taxis and private hire vehicles, meeting the specifications set out by the Welsh Ministers.
“This Measure will allow Welsh Government Ministers to place safety requirements on the vehicles that transport our young people to school,” said Committee Chair Jenny Randerson AM.
“It is an issue that has been in the news a lot in recent years and it is one that affects all of us.
“That’s why we want as many of you as possible to feed into the scrutiny process. This is to ensure we get strong legislation that will keep our children and young people safe on their journeys to and from school.”
In addition, the Measure makes provision so that Welsh Ministers have the power to:
create criminal offences for breaches of the safety regulations by providers of learner transport who fail to meet the prescribed requirements;
create a civil sanctions regime for breaches of the safety regulations by providers of learner transport who fail to meet the prescribed requirements;
establish an enforcement body to enforce the regulations; and
establish a tribunal for appeals.
To have your say write to Sarah Beasley, Committee Clerk, Legislation Committee No.4, The National Assembly for Wales, Ty Hywel, Cardiff Bay, CF99 1NA.
Or email legislation.office@wales.gov.uk or take part in this consultation through the National Assembly’s social networking sites: