Australian State to Tighten Seatbelt Compliance Following Tragic Accident

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The New South Wales (NSW) government is taking further action to improve bus seatbelt compliance following a tragic accident in the Hunter Valley in June.

On Oct. 13, the state government announced its acceptance of all five recommendations from a safety report commissioned after the bus tragedy.

The incident—said to be the worst road disaster in Australia for nearly 30 years—claimed ten lives and left over 20 people hospitalised when a coach carrying 40 passengers returning from a wedding crashed and turned over at a roundabout near Greta in the Hunter Valley.

The bus driver, Brett Andrew Button, faces 62 charges is remains before the courts.

The report (pdf) stated that while it was for forensic investigators to determine whether the passengers were wearing seatbelts, the government could do better to improve seatbelt compliance across the bus industry.

Among the recommendations were a road safety campaign to promote seatbelt usage on buses, mandating the use of seatbelts, and an 80km/h speed limit for school bus services with standing passengers.

New Safety Campaign on Seatbelt Compliance

A new safety campaign will be launched from the week ending Oct. 15 to educate passengers about the importance and legal requirements of wearing a seatbelt on a bus.

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It emphasises that using a seatbelt can double the chance of surviving a crash and reduce the risk of injury.

The campaign will be displayed on buses and coaches in the coming weeks, with a second campaign planned for the peak holiday travel period later this year.

“I have asked Transport for NSW to ramp up vital work in raising awareness of the importance of seatbelt laws on buses, especially on school buses,” NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said.

“We want everyone to remember that seatbelts save lives. If there is a seatbelt available on the bus you’re travelling on, you must use it.”

Pedestrians wait for a bus to pass by in Sydney, Australia, on July 28, 2021. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Under current NSW laws, passengers on public service buses designed for standing use are not required to wear a seatbelt if no empty seat is available.

In addition, bus drivers are not penalised if a passenger does not wear seatbelts.

Concerns About Government Overregulation

The Hunter Valley bus accident has renewed debates on whether state and federal governments should introduce new seatbelt laws.

While evidence suggests that seatbelt compliance can reduce casualty and injury risks in accidents, some political experts are concerned that the government could overstep its boundaries and interfere with people’s lives by introducing too many regulations.

In an opinion piece for The Epoch Times, former Liberal Senator Eric Abetz said that the inevitable responses of the government whenever a crisis occurred had caused people to believe that more regulations could lead to a perfect society.

“With a crisis comes the inevitable knee-jerk government response. It seems to be an affliction that is universal in Australia and most leaders nowadays, irrespective of the level of government or its stripes,” he wrote.

“The reaction is always more state interference in our lives and regulation; the view being the quicker the better because that is a display of ‘decisive leadership.’

“In so responding, the unsuspecting public is lured into the delusional belief that government can legislate and regulate us into a perfect society.”

Mr. Abetz cited several cases where the government’s interventions exacerbated the problems while promoting its “positive” images.

He then argued that there was a need for the government to reflect and consider whether to come up with a more minimalist response when facing a situation.

“Assisting the population to be self-reliant, dealing with the issues of the day without increasing taxes or government debt, avoiding regulations, and instead preserving personal freedoms would be a true display of decisive and principled leadership,” Mr. Abetz wrote.