JEDDAH: The tragic death of an eight-year-old student here last week, who was found locked inside his school bus, has seen several parents raise concerns about the drivers transporting their children and the roadworthiness of vehicles.

They have called on schools to adopt safety measures that would ensure their children are taken safely to and from school, including having seatbelts in buses and making sure the vehicles comply with traffic laws.

Abdullah Mursi, an Egyptian resident and father of two boys, said that there have been several incidents lately showing a lack of safety measures at schools. Schools must make sure they have proper regulations in place to avoid such incidents, he said. “Although people responsible locked in buses have been brought to justice, this will not restore them to their shattered parents. Since it only takes one lapse for tragedy to strike again, rigorous enforcement is needed for every part of the journey from home to school ... and vice versa,” he said.

Mohammed Ahmed, an Indian resident, said that the locking of children inside school buses is not the only problem. “Most school buses are in a bad condition and are not roadworthy, and are sometimes dirty inside and out. And most importantly, they do not have seat belts.” He said all school vehicles must have seat belts and ensure they are not overloaded. There should also be proper training for drivers, he said.

Fatimah Halabi, a resident, said that drivers often drop off children on the wrong side of the road, which means they have to contend with traffic to reach their homes.

“My building is on the left side of the traffic signal and the driver usually drops my children on the opposite side to save time.” She said that she complained about this to the school and admonished the driver. However, this shows that schools need to train drivers properly, she said.

Mohammed Saleh, an administrative manager at a private school, said he has started to introduce daily inspections and maintenance of school vehicles, and a monitor on each bus. One requirement is for drivers to check under seats to make sure there are no students hiding or sleeping.

According to a report in a local Arabic daily, Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, Jeddah’s education department director, said inspections of vehicles before and after each trip is mandatory. In addition, supervisors responsible for transportation must check student attendance and inform parents if their children are not in class. Saudi student Nawaf Al-Sulami was found dead in his school bus on Sunday afternoon outside his school in Naseem district. Last October, Abdul Malik, a Grade 3 pupil, was forgotten in his school bus and died of suffocation.