Belt up says Atkins The Government wants seat belts fitted to all coaches and minibuses.
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/ All coaches and minibuses should be fitted with seat belts and they should be worn, new roads and traffic minister Robert Atkins said last week.
"We are satisfied that it is practicable to fit seat belts in coaches and minibuses although they would not be justified in city buses," Atkins says.
He says it is the Government's firm belief that seat belts can make a major contribution to survival of accidents in most types of motor vehicle including coaches and minibuses.
It is Government priority that good-quality, easy-touse, retractable seat belts are fitted to all seats in coaches and minibuses and are worn by passengers.
"We are taking every opportunity to press the Euro-Commission for member states and the bus industry on this point," says Atkins.
At present, all exposed forward-facing seats in coaches registered in the UK since 1 October 1988 must be fitted with seat belts. But there is no legal requirement as yet for passengers to wear them.
Wider crossing • The Government is to give the go-ahead for a new box girder design for the East London river crossing. Before resigning from office last week, outgoing transport secretary Paul Channon and former environment secretary Nicholas Ridley announced that orders would shortly be published for a box girder bridge for crossing the Thames at Dartford. The new-style structure will permit wider loads to be carried across the Thames.