The state government has accepted all 5 recommendations made in a report into the Hunter Valley bus tragedy
In it's report, the Bus Industry Taskforce is recommending seatbelts be installed in school buses servicing regional and outer-metropolitan areas.
There's no recommendation to fit seatbelts to city buses, because of the number of passengers who stand.
The report has also prompted a safety campaign to be rolled out across the state from next week, aiming to educate passengers and bus operators about the importance of enforcing seatbelt use.
Manager of Port Stephens Coaches Adam Saoullis, says he wants drivers and passengers to be on the same page.
"The thing we find frustrating is, people wouldn't think twice about putting their seatbelt on in a car, but yet on a bus they won't.
When you look up and see people who haven't got their seatbelt on, you can politely ask them, but they look at us sometimes and think 'wow, why is he asking that?'"
Taskforce Chair John Lee, says they're also calling for a bus speed limitation to be investigated by the government moving forward.
"On some of those motorways, you can do 100km/h, and we're suggesting that the Centre for Road Safety re-examine that.
Where there are standees on buses, we're saying it should be capped or maximised at 80km/h," Mr. Lee said.
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| Image: Busaways |
