We have had substantial discussions in recent years on how to improve the quality of school education. But this should not be the only issue to consider when it comes to schools. Providing our children a safe environment and safe transport to and from school is also critically important.
As The National reported yesterday, tighter regulations formulated by the School Transport Executive Committee are being brought in for Abu Dhabi’s 6,000 school buses. They include mandatory seat belts, medical tests for drivers and training courses on pupil safety. These measures are in addition to a raft of safety initiatives announced last year, whereby hundreds of buses were fitted with GPS tracking systems, networked CCTV cameras, automatic double flashing lights to signal that the door is open, a driver’s side stop sign – and a coat of bright yellow paint. The remaining buses have to comply by September this year.
As important as these rules are, for them to really keep our children safe they should be rigorously enforced and a culture of safety should be in place. Consider the case of Nizaha Aalaa, a pupil of Al Worood Academy, who died last year after she was mistakenly left in a locked school bus, despite rules requiring drivers to carry out a thorough inspection of their vehicles after the children have disembarked. Nizaha was not the first such tragedy either. In 2009 and 2010, two children died in similar circumstances.
Then there are other ways in which the rules are flouted and the children’s safety endangered. It’s common to see minivans transporting pupils to and from school despite the ban on them. And school buses speeding – even through a school zone – with children on board is another common sight.
Information, training and swift enforcement of the rules is vital, if we are to avoid more tragedies.
