Coach travel in UK with young kids

[Melisandra]

Hi there, I'm short travelling with two kids (5+7) to visit family. Normally, i drive but can't on this occasion. So I'll be taking the train then a coach. The coach is just over an hour including half of it on the motorway. I'm now worried that it won't be safe for the kids even with backless boosters (I'm still waiting to hear if they have proper seat belts not just lap belts). The kids will be sat together and hopefully me in the aisle across from them. I still remember a primary school friend of mine who died in a coach accident on a school trip (she wasn't wearing a belt). Without the coach though, there's no other way to get to our destination. For the record, I'm not aware of any accidents involving this coach company or route and I trust my kids to sit sensibly during the journey. I'm not sure why I feel more paranoid about a coach journey on the motorway when we've done motorway travel in a car on holiday with backless boosters. Perhaps because I feel less in control as I'm not driving or because of the memory of the coach accident years ago. Would you do it if the coach didn't have proper seat belts?

Don't all coached have to have proper belts now?

I think the death of your school friend is understandably affecting your judgement here. You'll be fine. It's just one hour on a coach.

I've just called the company. They say it's a bus so they don't have seat belts or lap belts.

Is there not a connecting train ie a local train you can get from your initial train? Even if it means a member of your family meeting you say a 10 min drive from the destination?

I've checked the local trains and it runs from a station on the other side of the city we arrive in. So with luggage and both kids on my own, it's less than ideal but I'll look into getting a taxi there. Whether I get the bus or local train, we still have a car ride on the other side. It really will be a planes, trains and automobiles kind of day! It's also a dress rehearsal in the sense that if the journey is manageable, we'd like to do it more often as it's to visit my elderly parents who need a lot more help from me and who want to see the kids (they can't travel to me so I need to go to them).

I find it bizarre that buses are exempt from having seatbelts even when they travel down the motorway.

HundredMilesAnHour I think you're right about it affecting my judgement. Unfortunately, I also know someone who died in a motorway crash (no seat belt). So I suppose it's both these incidences playing in my mind.

The past is understandably planning on your mind. I know “normal” buses don’t have belts but I’m surprised as the motorway ones. In my experience trains are always better as there is more space for wriggly kids! Could you compare times etc and what about getting cheap booster seats to keep at the other end if someone is picking you up? Or the bubble bum travel boosters are good.

Hi OrchardFlower, yes I was also surprised that there are no seat belts on motorway buses. By law, apparently, they don't need to provide them as it's a bus not a coach. The local train doesn't really work for where we are going. One of the disadvantages of where we are going. I'm actually traveling with two boosters but I can't use them as the bus has no seat belts!

I do think the past is playing on my mind though. I think two fatalities of friends involving motorway crashes and no seat belts is probably really unlucky? As a previous poster has said, it should be fine. I must remind myself that the driver drives this route multiple times a day, several times a week. Must repeat to myself: it's most likely going to be fine.

Have a good trip 💐

Can you ask someone at the other end to pick you up from the station?

My neice used a wrap sling to create a bit of a belt for her daughters in buses - would that make you feel any better? It would mean that they were secured to the seats and not likely to be thrown if the driver does an emergency stop.

Have you considered doing the entire journey by coach? If National Express go to/from your destination and home then they do have 3 point seatbelts and boosters.