Sandals ups bus passenger safety policy
THE Sandals hotel group is insisting that all seats in vehicles of its ground transport contractors be fitted with seatbelts as part of its new passenger safety policy — a decision that has won the endorsement of government road safety officials.
But the Jamaica Union of Travellers Association (JUTA), whose members transport most of Sandals’ guests on sightseeing tours, has suggested that Toyota, the motor company from which they buy most of their vehicles, should bear the cost of re-kitting existing buses.
“Toyota Jamaica should not be ordering or continue its orders of buses without passenger seatbelts,” said Everton Banton, president of the Negril chapter of the tour company.
According to Banton, the new safety policy will prove to be expensive, considering the cost involved in upgrading his entire fleet of buses, acquired over the years without the belts.
“My contract with the Beaches properties states that seatbelts are required, especially for children,” said Banton. However, he noted that all the Toyota Coaster buses up to 2002 that were imported into Jamaica, didn’t have seatbelts throughout.
“I don’t know what the arrangements are that Toyota has with the manufacturer, but only those Coasters with passenger seatbelts should be available on the island,” he said.
However, assistant sales manager of Toyota Jamaica, Howard Foster, argued that his company was operating within the parameters of the law.
“All buses come with seatbelts at the front for passengers and the driver — that is the law,” he said and dismissed the suggestion that his firm should stand the cost of fitting seatbelts in the buses already sold.
“They have already bought the buses, and unfortunately, got ones without passenger seatbelts,” he said. “Passenger seatbelt is an option, like any other option or feature on a vehicle. It should have been discussed with the sales representative at the time of purchase.
“You just don’t buy the vehicle and then two years down the line request additional features.”
Under the law, buses and trucks are required to have seatbelts for the driver and for passengers up front. Motor cars are required to have seatbelts on all seats.
Foster said that new shipments of Coasters ordered this year had requests for seatbelts throughout. However, some of the buses came with all the belts, while others were fitted only with the standard requirement.
“It is always an option and continues to be an option,” he stressed. “Buses with passenger seatbelts can be ordered. Furthermore, there are companies, like Mitchell’s Auto Supplies, that carry these extra-long belts, and they can be installed at a cost.”
Sandals apparently enforced the policy following a recent road mishap involving a JUTA bus transporting tourists.
“There were no injuries, but the point came home,” a spokesman said.
“Passenger safety is paramount,” explained Wayne Cummings, general manager of Negril Gardens Beach Resort. He said Sandals’ managing director, Merrick Fray, gave tour operators the undertaking to ensure that their vehicles were fitted with seatbelts and child seats throughout.
“There is nothing wrong with us as a company asking for greater safety measures than the law,” stressed Cummings. “We are not only looking out for ourselves regarding liability issues, but also for them (JUTA). We operate in a very litigious marketplace and as a responsible company we are doing what is right.”
He reminded that when the law was passed making seatbelts mandatory in motor cars, “lots of cars got fitted to meet the criteria”. The same, he said, will have to happen for tour buses.
The transport and works ministry’s Road and Safety Unit accident analyst, Kenute Hare, praised the Sandals policy, saying “Anyone who wants to put safety first, or up a notch, we welcome it”.
“We don’t want anyone to die in an accident,” he added. “It disrupts the family, work and even puts pressure on the health services… People must realise that once they sit around the steering wheel they have to act responsibly, and once they have passengers, they are ultimately responsible for those people.”
Data obtained from the ministry indicated that up to February 28 this year, 39 persons died in traffic accidents, compared to 53 for the same period last year.