Is It Mandatory to install Seat belts in School Buses in Germany? To my understanding, not all are required?

Question

Strassenverkehrs-Ordnung (www.bmvbs.de)

Answer 1

Jerry, you're right. In my area, there ARE special school busses; they carry an orange plate showing the "children" symbol in the rear window, but even these don't have seat belts, as they're used for other purposes, too. Seat belts are only required for long-distance travel busses.

You're especially right about the experienced drivers. In my nine years using a bus to school in the Bavarian mountains, there never was a single accident. (I don't consider sliding into the ditch at low speed on a snow-covered road as an accident. Say it was a cool experience...)

Answer 2

I never recalled seeing school buses in Germany though that doesnt mean there arent any.

Answer 3

In most areas (or maybe even everywhere, I'm not sure), there are no special school busses, but regular busses are used to carry pupils. As those don't run on long tracks and don't drive at the Autobahn, there is no obligation for seatbelts.

In case of a danger situation seatbelts wouldn't change a thing anyhow, as there are almost allways more persons than seats in the bus. One does rather rely on low speeds, sturdy vehicles and qualified drivers.