Newsday
By Veneranda Langa, Senior Parliamentary Reporter
7 June 2011
Government is set to introduce legislation to compel school buses to have safety belts fastened on each seat as a precautionary measure in the event of road traffic accidents.
Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart said the legislation would be introduced in 2013.
Coltart was responding to a question by Shurugwi South MP Anastancia Ndhlovu (Zanu PF), who had asked the minister to explain government policy with regard to the safety of pupils on the roads, following many traffic accidents that have killed schoolchildren.
“We have stated that from the beginning of 2013 all children travelling in school buses must have safety belts and we have said that where school buses already have safety belts, those must be used immediately,†said Coltart.
“Road traffic accidents have been a matter of concern for the ministry and tragically in the last year, we had several incidents where children have been killed on their way to school and perhaps on their way back from school or sporting events,†he said.
“One of the things that we have considered is to place a ban on schoolchildren being driven in school buses, for example, outside daylight hours. We have put that to a variety of schools, but what has come back to us is that many schools in outlying areas have asked us not to do that because it would mean that they cannot get to cultural or sporting events on time,†said Coltart.