School bus rules set after deadly crashes
By Xu Chi |
April 11, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DRIVERS who refuse to give way to school buses will now face cash fines, and buses carrying students have been given priority to run in bus lanes or special lanes forbidden to other vehicles, under newly released regulations.
The School Bus Safety Management Regulations were issued yesterday by the State Council, China's Cabinet, following a series of fatal school bus accidents that have raised public concern.
Drivers of any vehicles who don't give way to school buses that carry students will face 200 yuan fines.
The regulations require local governments to ensure students attend schools nearest to their homes or go to boarding schools to minimize road accidents. In rural areas where schools are distant and public transport is unavailable, local authorities should take measures to ensure students have access to school buses.
The rules also define the responsibilities of schools and bus providers for student safety, set standards for buses and require drivers to have three years of driving experience.
School buses are required to go no faster than 80 kilometers per hour on highways and 60 kph on normal roads. In poor weather conditions, the maximum speed for school buses will be limited within 20 kph.
Rules were also set on overloading, which authorities blame as a major cause of school bus accidents. Violators will face serious cash fines with the school bus confiscated by police.
For those transporting students in reassembled or worn-out buses, a fine of 2,000 yuan (US$317) to 5,000 yuan will be imposed, their drivers' licenses will be revoked and buses will be seized. Owners of the buses will be fined 80,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan.
People involved in unlicensed school bus services will be held legally and perhaps criminally responsible under the regulations, which were issued in the wake of a series of fatal traffic accidents in which many children died or were injured in school buses.
In the latest such accident, three children were killed and 14 others were injured on Monday when an overloaded school bus slammed into a truck in Yangchun in southern China's Guangdong Province.
In the most serious accident, 21 students were killed in November when their nine-seat minivan, crammed with 62 preschoolers, crashed in northwestern Gansu Province.
The School Bus Safety Management Regulations were issued yesterday by the State Council, China's Cabinet, following a series of fatal school bus accidents that have raised public concern.
Drivers of any vehicles who don't give way to school buses that carry students will face 200 yuan fines.
The regulations require local governments to ensure students attend schools nearest to their homes or go to boarding schools to minimize road accidents. In rural areas where schools are distant and public transport is unavailable, local authorities should take measures to ensure students have access to school buses.
The rules also define the responsibilities of schools and bus providers for student safety, set standards for buses and require drivers to have three years of driving experience.
School buses are required to go no faster than 80 kilometers per hour on highways and 60 kph on normal roads. In poor weather conditions, the maximum speed for school buses will be limited within 20 kph.
Rules were also set on overloading, which authorities blame as a major cause of school bus accidents. Violators will face serious cash fines with the school bus confiscated by police.
For those transporting students in reassembled or worn-out buses, a fine of 2,000 yuan (US$317) to 5,000 yuan will be imposed, their drivers' licenses will be revoked and buses will be seized. Owners of the buses will be fined 80,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan.
People involved in unlicensed school bus services will be held legally and perhaps criminally responsible under the regulations, which were issued in the wake of a series of fatal traffic accidents in which many children died or were injured in school buses.
In the latest such accident, three children were killed and 14 others were injured on Monday when an overloaded school bus slammed into a truck in Yangchun in southern China's Guangdong Province.
In the most serious accident, 21 students were killed in November when their nine-seat minivan, crammed with 62 preschoolers, crashed in northwestern Gansu Province.
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