At that instant, my dad started saying that human beings, being the smart creatures that they were, always fail to foresee such dangers despite being there, only acting upon it after something has happened. Going by the parent's comments, this is a safety concern that should be addressed long time ago. It is high time that the government acted upon this and made it mandatory for school buses to have seat belts.
However, I beg to differ.
I personally do not believe that the main reason behind the deaths is due to the lack of seat-belts on school buses. Have anyone realised how reckless drivers nowadays are? I've seen young punks who just got their license, speeding around and bullying other motorists on the roads by tailgating, flashing the high beams, and honking. I've seen private chartered buses traveling way above the safety limit of 60kmh, some even at 100kmh. I've seen huge trucks, cement mixers, and tonners overtaking me on the left, cutting into my lane, traveling at 100kmh. I've seen those huge super coaches that plies the Singapore-Johor routes traveling close to 100kmh on our local roads too. I've also seen such heavy vehicles traveling in lanes 1 and 2 instead of the left-most lane where they are supposed to be.
There has never been an accident involving school buses that created such an uproar over the lack of seat-belts in school buses until this recent one. Why then did such a sad incident happen?
It's all due to the general attitude of motorists nowadays in hectic Singapore. We have delivery riders riding dangerously, young punks who drive powerful souped-up sports cars, impatient chartered buses drivers who want to make as many trips as possible with lack of sleep clouding their judgement and senses... etc.
Why does the general public shift the blame on the lack of seat-belts in school buses and not on the attitude and mentality of drivers? It is never the gun/knife that is dangerous. It's the person wielding it that matters.
While I believe the blame is accrued wrongly, the step to introduce seat-belts in school buses is none-the-less the right step in minimising deaths. However, much stiffer penalties should be given to those who drive recklessly. Those younger than 30s and just got their license should not be given the mandate to drive powerful sports cars. They should drive cars with a speed limit during their probation period in the 1st year, followed by speed limit removal but still smaller capacity cars in the 2nd year, followed by a lifting of restrictions in the 3rd year. Also, the penalties should be much more severe for those who flout the rules and drive recklessly(regardless of fatal accidents or not) if they are already into their 3rd year and still driving like an irresponsible kid.
I don't believe that someone else should be made to pay for the reckless action of another. It is not fair at all. Those who drive recklessly should be punished harshly.
The seat-belts will not save lives IF the driver is still speeding and driving recklessly. They will only aim to minimise casualties. The crux of this matter lies in the human factor - drivers themselves.
Much work is to be done to curb this problem. Reckless driving is way too dangerous and irresponsible.
*Note: Some pictures here were not directly due to traffic accidents. I cannot find any with strong a impact. But they are examples of gruesome injuries that can be inflicted due to accidents and recklessness.
