Aberdeenshire Council
ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL HAVE IMPROVED SCHOOL BUS SAFETY & IF THEY CAN ACHIEVE THIS, SO CAN OTHER LOCAL AUTHORITIES UK WIDE.
SOME OTHER LOCAL AUTHORITIES ALSO WORK HARD AT THIS & I INCLUDE MORAY & ANGUS.
SOME OTHERS IT SEEMS DON’T WANT TO KNOW!
Aberdeenshire Council are now in front of many local authorities as regards school bus safety.
For that we congratulate them.
They have also listened to us [the parents ] through our group & the Scottish Government, & they have adopted ideas put forward by us through my petition in 2006 & the current petition in 2008.
The council have also on own their own accord pursued other safety measure including the SeeMe interactive bus stop.
However there are still problems, pupils wear seat belts on a school bus, but not on a service bus also used as a school bus, yet it carries pupils.
To be fair this is not the fault of any local authority, the Responsibility for this legislation rests with the UK Government, no one else.
So what’s going to be new
Seat belts on all school buses
No Doubled decked buses on rural runs, which means no standing passengers.
The safety sign will have to be removed if the bus is on out of contract to school work
A new safety sign is being evaluated, as is a new bus stop.
As regards the safety sign being removed, we have doubts this will work unless rigidly enforced, our hope it will be.
Aberdeenshire are going to use penalty points thereby ensuring the sign is removed, the problem possibly is they are too generous with them .
However we are looking at this meantime in a positive light
We are also having problems with Stagecoach regarding this, not only in this area I hasten to add, but areas within central Scotland, there are still problems in this area.
This however is a great step forward & we DO recognise the council’s commitment to school safety; & there are still other points to be covered though.
The council asked that officers and transport operators jointly prepare options for revised and supplementary school bus warning signage and lighting?
Instructed work with Scottish Government officials to encourage further research of pick-up/drop-off points [pudo] through relevant local authority associations covering road safety and public transport?
Instructed officers to work with partners to maximise the use of the media to promote joint, coordinated messages to pupils, parents and drivers regarding the issues surrounding road safety and school transport?
wEWe look forward to the outcome regarding all these measures, as we do the interactive bus stop.
However steps have been taken that will hopefully reduce the accident rate, in this they have our support.
If you want to see what happens inside a bus without seat belts,.Look at these video links
Then tell me your children are safe on a service bus also used as school transport, in fact is any adult safe.
Look inside a bus, what do you see, poles , bars, high seats often with metal grabs, as the video shows, these can cause injury.
What I can say is any child on a service bus also used as a school bus, has a lesser degree of safety & that is wrong, every pupil should have the same level of safety, regardless of where they live, its called equality.
You cannot discriminate against the disabled, nor or the other groups, yet the Government is quite happy to discriminate against school children aboard a bus, which quite frankly stinks.
The Dept of Transport listens to no one, that’s fine being stuck in the middle of London, they really need to get out more & listen to what people are saying.
You wear a sear belt in your car, yet until the newer buses are used, your school bus will not have them fitted, so please look at the video links & tell me you feel safe.
Some of questions being asked of the Scottish Government now are
[1]How will it ensure the measures outlined in it will be implemented in a uniform way across every local authority?
[2] What were the results of the ‘See Me’ bus stop pilot? Does it have plans to provide additional funding to local authorities to allow this technology to be adopted nationwide? If not, why not?
[3] It clearly believes that there are many issues that are best left to each local authority to determine. However, how does it ensure consistency across all local authorities?
THIS ANSWER SHOULD BE INTERESTING AS SHOULD BE THE BELOW
[4] That the good practices of one are replicated in another? That a situation does not emerge that children travelling to school on a school bus do so more safely in one area than in another? There must surely be minimum expectations here? What are they?
THIS SITUATION IS HERE, NOW
What a change in this Councils attitude to safety since 2004, they have slowly progressed & by doing so are in front of most other local authorities, but it proves the point again, if any local authority is willing to change, it can be done & done for the better.
But As we always state, the contract price does not have to be the lowest, it has to be best value, & that includes, or should, HOW each company performs. Many smaller bus companies provide an excellent service, & that should be recognised, as already stated, we have had many problems with Stagecoach, yet it seems the contracts come their way. As i said " the cheapest price is not always the best price"
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[3 Site Last Updated - 02/09/2010
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