ACCIDENTS happen.

When a child is fatally thrown out the back door of a bus in an accident, new regulations are imposed. Singapore is already an over-regulated country.

What we need is less regulation to encourage more innovation. Back doors of buses should be made more secure while allowing them to be opened easily as they act as emergency exit doors.

I foresee the situations below where seat belts might turn out to be a liability: In the case that a bus overturns, panicking children will not be able to unbuckle themselves fast enough to get out, though it is true that without seat belts, some will be thrown about and injured.

Should a fire break out on board, the bus will be full of screaming children strapped to their seats.

How many adults need to get in to unbuckle them all quickly enough?

Fastening a child in a seat for half to one hour twice a day can be very uncomfortable, and goes against the idea that tots should be given more freedom to develop.

Back doors should be secured, and the rule to install seat belts should be postponed and relooked 10 years later - or at least when the recession is over - so as not to add to inflation.

If seat belts in school buses are a must, then buckling up should not be compulsory.

Let parents choose whether they wish to have their children belt up.

They could let the bus driver know, and a section of the bus could be reserved for children who are not using seat belts.

Mr Timothy Chin