- Traffic agents of the Civil Guard and local police of the municipalities that have joined the campaign will intensify inspections of this type of vehicles
This week, from Monday 10 to Friday 14 November, the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) is carrying out a special campaign to monitor and control the safety of school transport, a service that some 16,000 students regularly use in Cantabria.
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.
The previous school transport control campaign was carried out in January of this year and 228 buses were controlled and 32 complaints were filed. In the national assembly, during those five days of the campaign, 6,621 vehicles of this type were inspected, of which 1,789 were denounced for not complying with any of the regulations.
The Guide of the General Directorate of Traffic ‘To school always safe’ points out that 90% of traffic accidents with children that occur in relation to school transport to school take place at the time of getting in or out of the vehicle or just at the immediate moments and, in many cases, 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.