Doc calls for seatbelts

One day after another horrific bus crash in central Alberta, an emergency medical physician says every school board in the province needs to include seatbelts in their buses, along with flashing lights that are more noticeable.
Dr. Louis Francescutti, who is also a medical professor at the University of Alberta, says any time kids are transported, they need to be harnessed.
There are more bus crashes than people realize, said Francescutti.
“If you take a look at how these kids are being injured … it doesn’t make sense to not have these kids restrained.”
Jennifer Dawn Noble, 17, was killed in a school bus near Rimbey on Wednesday morning when the vehicle’s back end was ripped apart after a gravel truck struck it and an SUV in a dense fog.
A 14-year-old boy who was also hurt remains in critical condition at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.
The bus was stopped, picking up students along Highway 53 about three kilometres east of Highway 22.
Wolf Creek School Board Chief Superintendent Dr. Larry Jacobs says the strobe lights were activated.
Some school boards in the province are still using older model buses that are not equipped with efficient lights.
Premier Ed Stelmach said yesterday school bus safety is being reviewed and a report is expected soon. Stelmach also vowed to get tough on drivers who pass school buses while the lights are flashing.
“There is a lack of respect of this law,” said Stelmach.
“There are signs everywhere along provincial highways talking about what flashing lights mean, but we constantly hear, whether people are in a rush to work, they are not paying attention.”
Police continue to investigate the crash.
-jeff.cummings@metronews.ca