Road caution is essential to avoid accidents and as part of a good road education to set an example for our children and teach them how to drive insurance, in our car but also in other transports.
For example, on the way to school in school transport, a means that thousands of children use every day and that has to be safe. Not sitting with backpacks on, not standing or changing places on the bus, and of course wearing the belt are some of the measures to avoid risks.
These days the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) is conducting a surveillance and control campaign for the safety of school transport, intensifying inspections of this type of transport and verifying that the technical conditions and safety elements conform to the regulations.
According to the Observatory of Passenger Transport by Road, about 17,000 buses carry out school transport services, displacing more than 280 million passengers per year. Nearly half a million children use school transportation daily.
Recall that the European Union issued a Community Directive that states that since October 2007 registration is denied to any bus that does not have the restraint systems installed, but there are many old coaches without belts that continue to make school routes.
Specifically, according to a study carried out by the Spanish Business Federation of Passenger Transportation (Asintra), only two out of every five coaches that carry out school transport (38%) have seat belts installed.
According to the DGT, a minor without any type of retention multiplies the chances of fatal injuries by five. Nine out of ten serious or fatal childhood injuries could have been avoided if this type of device had been used.
School transport is subject to a series of special rules, the compliance of which in many cases depends on the safety of minors.
Therefore, if the law does not require these belts for children on school buses, it is the parents, through educational centers or parents' associations, who must demand that the contracted school buses meet all the requirements for this type Of transport.
But it must also be said that 90% of accidents that occur during school transport take place at the time of getting on or off the vehicle, or just in the immediate moments, and in many cases they are abuses caused by a distraction of the child, the driver of the school transport, or the parents. And we can not trust at any time.
Remember, by car or by bus, the road can be fun and safe for children if we follow the rules and avoid distractions. It's always good to remember it in the media and with campaigns like that of the DGT for safety in school transport, so that we are increasingly aware of the importance of this issue.
