Absolutely.
One of the key elements for research is to look at the interplay between the compartmentalized seats and the potential safety benefits associated with seat belts. Compartmentalized seats refers to the high-back padded seats in school buses that are spaced very closely together to absorb the impact of students in the event of a collision and help disperse the energy through the body in order to help mitigate the potential for injury.
In order to anchor seat belts to the seats, there had been concern about whether those seats would need to be stiffened to ensure that the seat belts are properly anchored in the seats. Research continues in this area. A key element is looking at the potential safety benefits associated with seat belts in the context of the existing seat designs.
One of the Canada motor vehicle safety standards does refer to the requirement for compartmentalized seats. Transport Canada does look at seat designs on an ongoing basis to continuously assess whether there are additional technological improvements or additional safety features that could be added.