Why don't buses have seat belts? Should they?

That has been a question of my mind for a long long time and for the life of me I don't understand why they don't have seat belts. Neither school buses or Greyhound buses have seat belts but yes I think they should most definetely because they've been involved in accidents just as any other vehicle has and a lot of people have been thrown around inside the buses and injured or even killed. I know that some places are trying to get seat belts put in school buses and by now I'm sure they have and yes I would definetely wear one if they had them.

This is what I have noticed also. It would seem like that buses does not have seat belts. Well, from what I have noticed, public vehicles like jeepneys and busses do not have seat belts on them and if they do, only drivers would have seat belt. Even passengers of taxis do not put on their seat belts. I do not know why.

I have not been on a public bus of any type in ages so I have no idea if Greyhounds have belts or not. here in Minnesota we had a school bus accident Tuesday morning. 3 vehicles including the bus were involved. It was a PACT bus with preschoolers on board. It was what is called a "short" bus. the van types. It had seat belts and that more than likely saved some childs life. All 3 drivers & 3 children were hospitalized with minor head injuries. Now there's a huge debate starting here about regular busses having seat belts. I think they should have them as the accidents are growing in numbers as of late. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

I think the newer school buses have seat belts. Although, I don't think it is a requirement to wear them. *Yet*. I think in the furture, all school buses will have them and it will be a requirement to wear them. I haven't rode on a Greyhound for years, so I don't remember. I know that I rode a tour bus a couple of years ago and they had them.

Most of the new National Express coaches in the UK have seat belts. It makes so much sense to have the belts fitted in coaches, particularly in the light of a recent coach crash where passengers were thrown around like confetti.

yes they should have seat belt too for our safety. but i notice that there is no place we can attached the seatbelt, see if we have seatbelt they only attached it the the wall of the bus and the second seat there is no place for it, even if they attached it under the seat it is not strong enough to hold a people coz under the seat there is only a tube that hold the seat. i hope all bus manufacturer should invent something that could make our safety first rather than making lots of bus.

really great question. I don't know why buses do not have seat belts. You would think for the great public good, public safety, etc. we would be concerned about that. We don't even require them in school buses. But we do require (someplaces) for there to be no smoking in apartments, not to mention public spaces. I would think we would be more attentive to safety in public buses than we are.....we even make a big deal about buckeling up on air planes. Come to think of it, we don't have them in traines either. What is wrong with this world?

School buses in Massachusetts do not have seat belts. When my son started kindergarten & I asked about it; I was told that it would be unsafe for the children to be buckled in if there was an accident that the driver had to undo everyone's seatbelt. I was also told the design of the seats were such that they protected children from injury & being tossed from their seat. I didn't like those answers, but I accepted for some time. When a couple years later I found out they were squishing 4 kids into seats designed for 2 or 3 children and the fourth child would sit with their legs in the aisle (due to overcrowding) I stopped letting my son take the bus. I was lucky that I was able to make my schedule work around his, but I really feel bad for parents who don't have that option.

Well I agree with you.I think if they have seatbelts then children and adults won't have any problem to travel in the bus.As we all know the buses drive very dangerously on the road and any time accident can take place.

School buses have seat belts. I believe that greyhound buses and all of them have them too. However, it's just not a requirement to wear them. I don't know why. I think because the way the seats are made, if there was an accident you would be a little better protected. But I don't really know that that is true, just a guess. Plus, if you have to evacuate, you have to get out and go out the back or those windows. Whereas a plane is similar, but if you have to evacuate you usually have had time to take off your seatbelts... I don't know. it's something to think about isn't it?

Buses do not have seatbelts because it is proven by experts that when buses get involve in a collision, passengers wearing seatbelts are more prone to have injuries due to factors such as its design and other complicated physics stuff hehe. Seatbelts are designed for cars and not buses so its effect on both vehicles is not the same.

A few days of research and a whole lot of opinions and very little specific data so far. None the less, I found 2 more links for you to go to. They are: http://www.wisegeek.com/why-are-there-no-seatbelts-on-scholl-buses.htm and http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/tp/tp13330/buspas_e.htm#passenger Enjoy!

I think they should have especially in the Philippines where bus drivers are wreckles, going from one lane to another. But I don't how they would do that, it's probably difficult to share the seat belt to another person.

Normally the buses do not have the seatbelts. Atleast I have not found any or never heard about it being in the buses. I have travelled among the hills also where the chances of some accidents are very high. But there also the buses do not have the seatbelts. Perhaps this is because the buses are quite big as compared to the cars. So the chances of a traveller being thrown out during an accident are rare. However, I agree with you that seatbelts should be made available in the buses too.

I think the law changed recently here in England. Previously, public transport didn't need seatbelts at all but now coaches have to have them and I think there has been a law introduced which makes it compulsory for school vehicles to have seatbelts. ALthough, buses put on by the local bus companies don't have to have them even if they are school buses. There are some buses around here which have seatbelts but, oddly, it is the one which makes one of the shortest journeys. They are fairly new around here anyway but none of the main companies have seatbelts. I might use them if they were there all the time and I would definitely get my kids to wear them. I do think it is bad that they aren't on all vehicles.

Yes as a matter of fact some buses do have set belts they are in the front of the buses though.. I know the smaller buses have them as well.. I think the reason why they don't toward the back is because the bus is high enough and stable enough incase there is accident children are able to get out... Like the bus that dropped in the Mississippi in MN kids were able to get out and weren't stuck in the bus to drown so there are reasons why...

Hi Patty! I'm in the U.K., England to be precise and there have been several accidents on motorways and faster roads, involving buses and private mini buses. A law was recently passed that all long-distance, public coaches, private coaches, and private mini buses must be fitted with seat belts, and the driver ensure the seat belts are worn, or they will receive a heavy fine, whilst the passenger will receive a smaller one. The local buses, travel much slower, and on sub-standard roads, like urban streets and country lanes. Naturally, the risk of accidents is much lower, as in most places, the buses can only travel between thirty and forty miles an hour, and passengers only travel short distances, of up to ten miles. These don't have seat belts fitted, but once or twice, I've wondered if they shouldn't, because I've seen many an elderly person thrown to the front of a bus, or child thrown off the seat, if the bus has to pull up quickly for some reason. I think you Greyhound buses, like our coaches, should be fitted with seat belts. They travel at high speeds and for long distances, so the passengers need some sort of safety, in case of driver drowsiness, or swerving off the road to avoid hitting another vehicle. That's just my opinion though. It will be interesting to read through your other responses. Great discussion. +. Brightest Blessings.

y'know..i've wondered that.our school and city buses don't have them.you'd think at least the school. greyhounds did a long time ago,but any of the greyhound/greyline/peter pan buses i've been on lately don't.

I know that some of them do, but I really think they all should. Everyone has to wear their seat belts here, but not buses, it's really weird.

I have heard pros & cons on the issue of seat belts in school buses for some time now. As for tour buses, I haven't heard any arguments for their use. I found a site that has a report about school bus seat belts. The link is: http://www.safety-council.org/info/traffic/schbusbelt.htm if you care to read it. Just copy and paste the link if it is not highlighted here. You have a very interesting topic here. I will be doing more research and I will let you know what I find!