The picture above cost a child’s life because Canadian school buses have no seatbelts.

Thousands of Canadian children are being injured and in some cases killed because school buses aren’t equipped with seatbelts. If they were, these tragedies could be prevented.

I started this petition because I’m a school bus driver and I’m the only one to buckle up. Does that make sense? It’s a dollars over safety issue!

A previously unreleased 2010 Transport Canada test crash study revealed that school buses failed safety tests and failed to prevent serious injuries in the event of side-impact or rollover crashes. The tests were done on the heals of an Alberta teenager who was killed after being ejected out of the bus and dying on impact with the ground. The results of the test and study were not released until CBC’s investigative report show The Fifth Estate show made them public in October 2018. The report concluded that more needs to be done to "reduce or eliminate the serious injuries" and Transport Canada's chief of crashworthiness research said seatbelts are "a good first step" towards improving school bus safety.

Eight states in the USA are required by law to have three-point seatbelts for all riders. Why can’t we do the same in Canada? Liability laws for school boards, schools and drivers in the USA have been implemented and are working nicely! Canada has already borrowed seatbelt rules and regulations for seatbelt installation on school buses from the USA. With these already in place we only need to legislate usage to law! This hasn’t been done as our government doesn’t want to spend the money. They say here’s how you must do it, if you want too, However offering no funds, help or legislation. 

These links below for me really sum it up!

https://youtu.be/bcnSpQdeG3M 

https://youtu.be/WOKCS0gYRf0 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k26an3k9sPA

It’s time for Canada to realize that seatbelts save lives and protect our children.

You can reduce injuries and potentially save a child’s life by just signing this petition! Please SIGN and SHARE today. 

Thank you, Be Safe and Buckle Up!

Gary Lillico