Seatbelts are coming to some school bus routes in Hope, beginning in January.
A letter was sent to parents in the Fraser Cascade on Nov. 26, asking them to encourage their children to use the seatbelts provided. The routes with the seatbelts will be #6 (Kawkawa Lake/ Sunshine Valley), #7 (Silver Creek/ Laidlaw), and #8 (Silver Creek/ Chawathil/ Ross Road).
The routes are getting new replacement buses, that come equipped with the belts. The school district acknowledged that the belts are not mandatory to have in a school bus. However, they add, when buses are equipped with the safety devices, the BC Motor Vehicle Act states they must be used.
“The seatbelt usage requirment is a change in the school district’s operational procedures when operating buses equipped with seat belts,” the letter states. “We anticipate that all passengers are very familiar with seat belt use, which will minimize the impact of this change.”
They ask that parents and guardians encourage their students to use the seat belts.
“The bus drivers will not operate the bus until all passengers are properly seated using the appropriate safety equipment,” it states.
Failure to use a seat belt could result in a suspension of bus-riding privileges.
@CHWKcommunity
jpeters@theprogress.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.