The Ministry of Education recently received 1,200 school buses. The second batch of 9,000 is expected to be used to transport grade school kids to school.
While school bus transportation is the norm in most Western nations, we are a bit slow when it comes to providing adequate school transportation for children. While 9,000 school buses are a drop in the bucket of what is actually needed for every primary, intermediate and secondary school student in Saudi Arabia, it’s a move in the right direction. It’s a huge task given that families have traditionally depended on family drivers, private school bus companies and taxis.
Using school buses reduces traffic and guarantees dependable transportation that gets children to school and back home on time. It also may reduce the instances of physical and sexual abuse by drivers that have been reported in the Saudi media in recent years. But above all, the likelihood of fatal accidents should be reduced providing the Ministry of Education establishes safety-training policies.
Private student transportation companies over the years have been notorious in being involved in fatal accidents. The blame doesn’t necessarily lie with bus drivers but the chaotic and dangerous conditions of Saudi roads.
In February 2013, six Jubail international primary schoolchildren died and 10 other students injured when the driver of a passenger car lane-jumped and struck a private school bus.
In another incident in December 2013, three intermediate and secondary school girls were injured in Makkah when their school bus struck a car in front of a boys’ school. Twelve students were on board.
In the wake of the Jubail crash, parents said they repeatedly complained to the school about safety lapses only to be told that the school contracts with a private transportation company and can’t be held liable for negligence. Schools have established criteria to hire qualified drivers, yet it’s unknown whether those requirements are met.
The Jubail parents also suggested that a bus monitor be assigned to each bus to make sure students are picked up and dropped off at the appropriate place. And this is the crux of the issue as more and more school buses are put on the streets. We have modern transportation, but do we have drivers and maintenance workers qualified to drive and service the new buses?
If the current pool of school bus drivers is any indication, I have my doubts that each new school bus will be driven by a competent and focused driver. After all, we have a habit of importing the most advanced technology into the country, but fail to train people to properly operate that equipment.
School bus drivers and their employers should understand it takes more than driving skill to transport two- or three-dozen children from one point to another. Modern school buses have clearly marked emergency exits. Drivers need to know where those exits are, how to unlock them and how to escort children to safety.
Often drivers will make special stops or pickups that are not on assigned routes. Most local and national agencies require that buses only stop at designated bus stops. Western companies require drivers to stop at all railroad crossings regardless of whether a train is coming. Drivers are also required to exit the bus as children are offloading and ensure that no child steps into traffic or in front of the bus. Many drivers, as a matter of policy, try to watch every child enter their home or apartment building before leaving the bus stop. The new buses arriving is a great step forward for Saudi schools, but it doesn’t mean that children will be safer unless we seriously address the dangerous road and traffic conditions throughout the Kingdom and guarantee that qualified drivers are behind the wheel.
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