Flashing warning lights for school buses
The pilot initiative was launched by Minister of State Síle de Valera, who has responsibility for the school transport system at the Department of Education.
The safety measure is aimed at reducing accidents around school buses, which cost the lives of 11 children between 1993 and 2003.
The warning lights are being fitted initially to 22 buses in Ms de Valera’s hometown of Ennis, Co Clare, where 750 children avail of a school transport service. The “prototype warning light system” developed by Bus Éireann operates whenever a school bus is stopped or about to stop to collect children or allow them disembark.
“The safety of the school transport service is a matter of paramount importance to Bus Éireann and to my department. From the outset, I have put the issue of enhanced safety of the service at the top of my priority list,” said Ms de Valera at yesterday’s launch of the pilot programme in Ennis.
A Department of Education spokesperson said the town was chosen because it has a mix of vehicles used for school transport to primary, second level and special schools.
“I am anxious to ensure that the likelihood of an accident occurring while schoolchildren are either boarding or alighting from school buses is reduced to the absolute minimum,” the minister said.
She said it was intended to fit warning lights on all buses used for school transport, depending on assessments of the pilot scheme and its impact on behaviour of other motorists over the coming months. It is estimated that fitting such a system throughout the school transport fleet would cost about €3 million.
The Government has set aside €116.5 million this year for the scheme, which carries about €140,000 pupils on 3,000 vehicles and on 5,000 routes each year.
Fine Gael recently accused the system of being unsafe and outdated.
However, the Department of Education said all safety regulations are observed throughout the transport system.
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