The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has launched a new special surveillance and control campaign throughout the national territory, including the Canary Islands, focused on school transport given the importance of road safety in passenger transport in general, being even more important in the field linked to the school environment.
Under this campaign, which began this Monday and will end on Sunday, both the agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, and those of the local police of those municipalities that have decided to join the campaign, especially monitor that school transport vehicles circulate at the allowed speed and that their drivers do not use the mobile phone or other devices that suppose distraction, since the most common accidents in which school buses are involved are mainly caused by circulating at an inappropriate speed or by distractions. Alcohol and other drug checks are also being carried out among drivers and, due to the importance of the safety belt in case of an accident, special attention is paid to the use of these in school buses that have them installed.
In addition, inspections on these vehicles have been intensified, verifying that the authorizations and documents they must have are correct for the provision of the service. And it is being verified that the technical conditions and safety elements of the vehicle are those required by the regulations, as well as the special requirements that must be met by the driver himself, such as the driving license or driving and rest times.
“The Spanish Government continues to focus on the safety of children. Among these areas of security is especially that of their movements, not only what happens inside their educational centers. We are vigilant so that they can maintain their safety also since they set foot outside their homes or their schools,” says the government delegate in the Canary Islands.
“The issue of safety in school transport is particularly important in geographical environments such as the Canary Islands, where the use of school buses is very necessary in the face of the dispersal of some population centers. Therefore, this campaign will serve to prevent and raise awareness, not only for professionals in public transport, but also for mothers and fathers”, he adds.
The guide of the General Directorate of Traffic To school always safe It points out that 90% of traffic accidents involving girls and boys that occur in connection with school transport to school take place at the time of getting in or out of the vehicle or just in the immediate moments and, in many cases, these are atrocities caused by a distraction. It also mentions that a large proportion of these serious injury claims are related to the lack of proper use of seat belts.
Results of the last campaign
In the last monitoring and control campaign on school transport that was carried out between 20 and 24 January, 6,621 vehicles of this type were inspected throughout the country, of which 1,789 were reported for breaching some of the provisions of the regulations.
In the case of the Canary Islands, 362 school transport vehicles were subject to controls, of which 259 were reported.
In the specific case of the complaints processed by the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, the majority were generated, as has been usual in recent campaigns, by administrative irregularities, such as not having the mandatory resolution of the special authorization to carry out school transport or not having signed the compulsory insurance of civil liability, as required by law.