Vietnam Daily News

China issues draft school buses rules after crash

Written by Dailynews.vn Tuesday, 13 December 2011 18:44

China's cabinet on Sunday published draft regulations aimed at improving school bus safety, after the deaths of 19 children in an overcrowded, nine-seater bus sparked a nationwide outcry.

The bus was carrying 64 passengers when it collided with a lorry in November in the northwestern province of Gansu, also killing two adults - just weeks after another school bus accident left seven children dead.

The draft - issued by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, China's cabinet - lays out a number of suggestions that the public has been invited to comment on.

It stipulates that the government will establish a system of mandatory technical standards to test the quality of vehicles used as school buses, which will now have to go through safety checks every six months.

19 people died in Gansu province in this collision last month between a lorry and a school bus (AFP, Str) The buses will also have to be equipped with hammers, fire extinguishers and first aid kits, and drivers will now have to conform to strict requirements, such as having had a licence for more than three years.

Children are often crammed into buses for their journeys to school, especially in rural areas, due to lax enforcement of existing rules.

Following the Gansu accident, the government ordered nationwide checks on school bus safety in an effort to curb rampant overcrowding.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last month pledged to improve safety for school children, and ensure adequate funding so that they could be safely transported to schools or kindergartens.

Authorities said last month they had formally arrested the head of the kindergarten operating the bus. The driver, who died, was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road, and above the speed limit.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j4ZK4_ZmIL_Ihsu2-AnYVG9wdq1w?docId=CNG.83b864429e5546a58ebb4887d6972217.131

Source: www.intellasia.net/news/articles/society/111350572.shtml