Seat belts on Transport Canada’s highway buses to be mandatory

With a strong track record of improving safety and reducing injury, seat belts will soon be a mandatory requirement on Transport Canada’s newly built medium and large highway buses.

As a result of this new decision, all highway buses built on or after 1 September 2020 will require seat belts.

Overall, buses are a safe means of transportation; however, seat belts can improve safety further by helping prevent passengers from being ejected during a collision or rollover.

Transport Canada first proposed seat belt requirements in 2017 but recently, industry and stakeholder feedback was considered when producing the new requirements.

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, said: “We’ve all heard the message to buckle up over the years and I think it’s time we brought this approach to highway buses too. By having seat belts on highway buses, we can help reduce injuries in severe collisions, such as rollovers and improve safety for everyone.”  

The new requirements will not apply to school buses as they are already designed to protect school children in the event of a crash; however, school bus operators can install them on a voluntary basis, so long as they meet the requirements set by Transport Canada.