Newly implemented safety features to be introduced into 1,300 public school buses comes as a welcome initiative by the Abu Dhabi education Council (Adec), in partnership with Emirates Transport. Safety of public and private school students has become a matter of growing concern in the country and, sadly, there have been a few tragic deaths where a student’s wellbeing has been severely compromised. The importance of safety systems in school buses can never be emphasised enough. This initiative has been introduced for the first time in the Middle East with a view to ensuring that no child is left behind in a bus. The drivers and the supervisors will have to reassert their accountability, in collaboration with cutting-edge technology, thereby instilling confidence in parents.
The onus now will be to impart sufficient training to bus attendants and drivers so that they can operate the system smoothly. Efforts should be made to ensure that such new innovations are also extended to public transport vehicles as well. The legal requirements for becoming a licensed school bus driver can be demanding. In keeping with these new improvements, their skills and knowledge of safety procedures must be evaluated regularly.