The scene of the school coach crash is just a few miles from the where a previous incident resulted in the death of two children.

In 1994, a lorry driver crashed into a bus carrying children on its way to Biggar High School. Sixteen children were injured and the resulting deaths led to a campaign for seatbelts to be compulsory in school buses and coaches.

The crash happened in February on a bend on the B7016 road between Carnwath and Biggar. A 15-year-old boy was killed and a 16-year-old died in hospital later of his injuries.

Following a fatal accident inquiry, a sheriff rules that wearing of seat belts was a reasonable precaution "whereby the deaths might have beeen avoided". 

The incident was only a year after 13 children died when their school minibus ploughed into the back of a motorway maintenance vehicle on the M40 near Warwick.  Eight days earlier, 10 people were killed and 36 injured when a coach carrying American and Canadian tourists crashed through a safety barrier on the M2 in Kent after colliding with a van.

In 2006 the law changed for seatbelts in minibuses and coaches. The law says that child restraints must be used if available and appropriate. This means that it is not compulsory to provide them but they must be used if they are there.