IN THE debate over installing seat belts in school buses, two concerns have surfaced - costs and capacity.

Yesterday, mechanical engineering undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) offered a possible solution that they believe addresses both.

School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering second-year student Tan Kai Yong, 23, and his 11 other teammates came up with an adjustable belt system that allows three children to sit on a bench seat meant for two adults, without compromising their safety.

The three-point belts, similar to those found in cars, come with a velcro strapping and movable buckle that can be adjusted to fit children or adults, and be fitted on all types of bus seats.

"Fitting regular seat belts would result in a loss of (seating) capacity and thus a loss of revenue for the bus driver," said Mr Tan.

To keep costs down, the team sourced for parts from China. Their calculations show that a 17-seater minibus can be fitted with belts for about $425 in materials.

Motor workshops have been reported as saying that it costs between $800 and $1,000 to install the less secure two-point seat belts for a 17-seater.

The students' design won the team top prize in the safety and environment category at the annual NTU Engineering Innovation and Design competition held at the university's Nanyang Auditorium yesterday.

Cost and capacity issues are among those being studied by the Land Transport Authority, which is working with the bus operators to come up with a workable design, before deciding whether existing minibuses need to be fitted with seat belts.

The decision has already been taken to fit all new minibuses that seat under 16 passengers with seat belts.

Another team at the competition focused on ensuring that children would keep their belts on while seated.

They attached weight sensors to the seats and linked it to a panel on the driver's dashboard which lights up if a child is not strapped in.

Another issue tackled in the competition was pool safety, to prevent children from drowning in condominium pools.

A team designed a safety net, that spreads across the width of the pool at the press of a button when someone is in trouble, fishing the person out to the surface.

Associate Professor David Butler, the competition coordinator, said: "These are all very current issues the students are tackling. They must have read about it and decided that they are going to do something about it. It is really heartening and I'm really pleased."

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 10 June 2008.