to think buses should have 'child priority' seats....

[ThatBloodyWoman]

fitted with seatbelts?

I find it extraordinary that there are such tight controls when it comes to children travelling in cars,yet a parent is expected to get on a bus,and grapple with sometimes more than one small child,sometimes a baby.....

'Maybe because children are expected to sit on a parent's lap if small and the bus is crowded or stand up for an old person if they are older.'

I was going to write similar - young children already have priority seats, they're called 'parents' laps'!

Yes I can imagine that scenario Floggingmolly and no thank you!

Oh I can just I agine the MN threads!

No. Not workable.

Please no, small children can sit on their parents.

YABU.

Of course small children can sit on their parents' laps.

And older children are at no more risk from standing than anyone else.

Daft idea.

No. Not ever. No

Nooooo! Parent's knees are adequate IMHO.

Why should children get priority over keeping safe? Does it not matter if adults are injured in a crash so long as the children are ok? All or nothing IMO.

no. I dont get any sort of priority, I am pregnant, on crutches, have a pram and a six yo to wrangle. its bad enough that parents dont tell their children to move for the less able anyway! I always tell my DS to move if an elderly or disabled person gets on and I fold my pram and sit with DD if a wheelchair gets on. it really annoys me.

seatbelts on buses would probably get vandlised within a week. and also no because there is enough aguments over the pushchair space with out the added piority kids seats

Definitely not.
Why does a child have "priority" just because they are a child? they can sit on a parents lap.
inner city bus user, commuting solo since the age of 7, so that makes 45 years. Never once seen a child (including self and friends) injured on a bus, but loads of adults, not just elderly people. And all of those injuries were caused when they were moving down the bus or exiting the bus.

Plus, children under a certain age are free, those under 16 pay half fare here. To make this idea even remotely feasible, al children, including new borns would have to be charged full fare.

Yanbu.

My dd fell under two seats when sitting on my lap when the bus braked.

Yes. YABU.

No. No. No. No.
Shall I go on...

YABU. Daft, deluded, away with the fairies and U. Sorry about that.

Ha! Just got back to the thread as broadband has been down.

I'm quite surprised at some of the responses tbh!

After all,no school would dream of sending children on a schooltrip nowadays using a coach without seatbelts.

Given the very few exceptions to the seatbelt rule its never ceased to amaze me that bus travel is exempt.

Daft,deluded and away with the fairies -probably as a general observation ,but on this issue particularly,I disagree.

When children are on laps,their teeth are beautifully in line with the handrail in front....

Coaches go at speed down motorways. Buses trundle about v slowly. They are completely different.

Agree with all the other posters about injuries, yes children may fall over on the bus but they are not a significant cause of serious injuries. Child falls over on bus = bumps and grazes. Elderly person falls over of the bus = broken bones (which are more serious in an elderly person than a child as well)

Some bus routes do go on motorways.

Surely if you've got a child travelling with you, you keep hold of then wether on your knee or sat next to you? If sitting with a child on your knee on public transport they should be facing in toward the adult.

I've frequently had toddler in the sling and 4 yo sat on my knee to make space for others.

I would say that the onus would be on the able bodied people occupying seats to offer their seats to passengers with greater need.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahhahahahahaaha

Seriously? People won't move their buggies for my 8yo in his wheelchair, for heaven's sake, so I hardly think further restrictions on the bus relying on people recognising greater need is going to go anywhere.

But by that argument,Alice we may as well do away with all priorities -which rightly will not and should not happen.
Yes,some will chose to flout the rules,but its not good reason not to have them.

I'm really not interested in debating it tbh. Quite frankly, I've reached end point with the disablist nonsense spouted sometimes, so I was simply making a comment that I didn't think it would work.

Oh dear god, could you imagine the MN threads if this goes ahead?

"AIBU to think that the elderly lady with the walking stick should have got off her lazy arse so that my 10 year old should have been able to sit in the child seat?"

"AIBU to think that the man on the bus should have helped me by strapping my DS in to the 5 point safety harness before the bus driver pulled away?"

"AIBU to think that the bus driver should have laid out a red carpet because I am a mother. I have reproduced, dammit! Worship me."