Seat belts on School Buses

The Northern Territory Government has invested $3.6 million in 21 new seat belt-equipped school buses.

From the beginning of the 2008 school year the new school buses will operate in the Darwin rural area and one bus which services Pine Creek to Katherine.

The seat belt-equipped buses are being introduced on some higher risk rural area school bus routes. These are routes that involve travelling longer distances at high speed.

Seat belts will provide students travelling on buses with the same seat belt safety benefits of those travelling in other vehicles.

All students will be expected to wear seat belts where they are available.

Parents are asked to emphasise to their children the importance of wearing seat belts.

Schools and drivers will also encourage children to wear the seat belts.

School bus scheduling is designed to ensure there are enough seats for each child. If a school bus reaches the maximum seat carrying capacity and a student is waiting at a bus stop, the student will be picked up. Bus drivers are required to collect all students. However, the student may be required to stand in a designated safe area on the bus.

The new seat belt equipped buses are owned and operated by Buslink, the main school bus contractor in the greater Darwin area.

• Code of Conduct for School Bus Travel (pdf), (word)
• Addendum to the Code of Conduct for School Bus Travel - Seat Belt Addendum (pdf), (word)