To wonder if this is safe/legal? School trip coach question!

[Heckythump1]

Just waved DD off on her school trip (yep we're still at school, tomorrow is the last day of term)
The children were all sat 3 to a seat, obviously without seat belts, is this safe/legal?
Obviously assuming it is as coach wouldn't have left and there's nothing I can do anyway! (Can't find anything on a quick Google)
Mainly feel sorry for the poor lad wedged in with DD and her best friend as they will be cackling like a pair of grannies all the way there and back! 🤣

Yes it's legal. The chances of an accident on a coach is much less and they tend to be caused by the driver having a medical episode. So it's risked assessed. Like on a bus.

Do you mean 3 children across 2 seats? Of 3 children on each single seat?

I have organised many school trips and coach companies are very strict about numbers and safety, as it should be. The coach driver always checks everyone has their seat and seat belts are on.

Are you in England? Did you say anything to the teacher? Coach driver? I would have!

Coach and bus seat belts are usually just lap straps and completely useless in a crash.

Depends on type of vehicle, if there are seatbelts you can't have 3 to a seat but buses don't all have belts

We would NEVER use a coach without proper 3 point harnesses and a seat per child!

I'd have thought the over crowded seats more of an issue than the belts. Can't imagine the insurance covering that, however we always make sure all dc have their belts on on school trips and the driver expects it. They aren't just lap belts. They don't actually fit the ddc though so still not especially safe

3 across 2 seats.
I didn't say anything to the teacher because I'd dropped DD off early for the trip and was just walking back from dropping my other child off.DD waved to me from the coach and I was on the opposite side of the road. They were just pulling away 😛

Coach or bus? Makes a difference. Personally I wouldn’t have let my dc get on a coach with three to a seat especially if going on the motorway. A bench seat in a bus is different and would probably only be used for two mike trip to the baths or similar.

This happened when I was at school. I wouldn't have expected it now. I did help on one school trip with narrower seats so they could have 3 on one side and 2 on the other which was a great idea for small children. Less comfy for adults helping!

Are you sure it's not a coach with 3 seats on one side of the aisle and 2 on the other?

Our school have had them a few times recently. The 3 seats together are quite narrow. A bit of a squeeze for me but fine for kids

All our trips, with school and Guides, were done like this when I was a child, but I haven't seen it done in decades. Like you, I guess it must be legal or the coach company wouldn't allow it, but I'm surprised.

I probably wouldn't say anything though. They're doing it to save cost and coach travel is very safe.

Yes surely got to be this?!

I remember school swimming being cancelled because the coach company sent an older coach without the usual lap belts and that was 1996! I can’t believe that a school these days would be happy to have kids totally unrestrained without even a seat each??

Maybe it was! I've never seen a coach like that before but I don't go on coaches often!

For those asking, I wasn't going to pull her from the trip (I couldn't have anyway as they were pulling away) she's in year 3, and this is their first proper big trip because of COVID they didn't do trips at all in reception and year 1 and last year they went to somewhere very local. She has been excited about this trip all term, she would have hated me forever if I'd stopped her going.

Surely has to be the coaches with 3 narrow seats instead of 2. Otherwise completely unacceptable (organise a lot of school trips, and yes I know how expensive coaches are but that sort of arrangement is not ok)

Just googled the coach company and they have a 70 seater coach, so I'm assuming it's one of these ones with 3 seats one side and 2 the other.
That would make sense for 2 classes and staff 👍

Sounds unusual and unsafe if everyone does not have a seat each. Never happened 40 years ago to me, we always had a seat each.

Coach companies by us have coaches that have three seats in a row each with a belt. They are narrow seats and not suitable for adults but work fine for children. Could i have been one of these?

Came here to say this! Maybe it depends on the age of the children?

Our Year 3s and Year 4s go swimming in coaches that have 3 seats on one side of the aisle, 2 seats on the other. They all have seat belts.

We asked for ‘normal’ coaches to take Year 6 on a long journey to PGL, as they are all huge!!!