The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) begins today and until next Friday 26, a special campaign of surveillance and security control of school transport, a service that in Cantabria usually uses 16,221 students in the 520 school routes that exist.
Within the framework of this campaign, which is going to be developed throughout the week, it is especially monitored that these vehicles circulate at the allowed speed and that no use is made of the mobile phone or other devices that imply distraction, since the most common accidents in which school buses are involved are mainly caused by circulation at an inadequate speed or by distractions. Alcohol and other drug checks will also be conducted among drivers.
In addition, due to the importance of the safety belt in case of an accident, special attention will be paid to the use of these in those school buses that have them installed.
Of course, 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, will intensify the inspections on these vehicles, checking that the authorizations and documents they must have are correct for the provision of the service. They will also verify 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 licence or driving and rest times.
In Cantabria, where 606 vehicles are registered for these services, 93 vehicles were controlled and 54 complaints were made, most of them related to deficiencies in the documentation. During the campaign developed last year.
A VERY DEMANDING REGULATION
School transport is subject to a series of rules whose compliance in many cases depends on the safety of its small passengers, so it is everyone’s responsibility to demand that these be complied with, whether through campaigns such as this one, schools or parents’ associations that are responsible for hiring the routes.
Among other things, since October 20, 2007, the buses that are registered must have restraint systems installed (they currently carry more than 60% of the entire fleet of this type of vehicle), since the safety belt is useful on any route, whether short or long, urban or interurban.
In addition, since side collisions and ranges account for 40% of the accidents of this type of vehicle, since 2013, all new vehicles must also have an emergency braking system that is activated automatically when it detects the possibility of a collision.
At the national level, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics cited from the Observatory of Road Passenger Transport, more than 200,000 students use the school bus to travel to their educational center. Therefore, although accident rates are low, ensuring safety in road passenger transport and, in particular, in school transport is a priority.