New bus seatbelt laws will be difficult to enforce, company owner says
A Saskatchewan charter bus company is welcoming news of stricter seatbelt regulations from the federal government, but says enforcement will be a challenge.
Transport Canada will require all newly built medium and large buses used on highways to have seatbelts as of September 2020. The decision comes in the wake of the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy April 6.
“I think it’s a good idea and they’re there if people want to wear them,” Stacey Petreman, owner and manager of Prince Albert Northern Bus Lines told paNOW. “But, they’re pretty hard to enforce on a motor coach. When you have 56 passengers sitting behind you, you can’t really make people wear them.”
Petreman figured only about two per cent of passengers actually wear the seatbelts which are installed on his fleet of coaches.