A stark reminder of the differences between school busing in North America and that in many places around the world was set this week when 21 kindergarten students were killed in a remote village in western China after the school van in which they were riding collided head-on with a truck.
Many news reports referred to the school vehicle as a minibus, but photos show a yellow van, likely a nine-passenger variety. Even worse, 62 total students ages 5 and 6 were crammed into the vehicle along with two adults, a driver and a teacher, who both died in the crash, which occurred in the province of Gansu. ABC News reported that an education expert in China said the sheer number of students on board indicated that at least seven vans should have been used.
While economically at least China is thought of as the pre-eminent emerging economic power, and it reportedly is in the lead of foreign countries that own U.S. debt, China has a far way to go in ensuring traffic safety for its citizens, and especially its children. In fact, China tallied 70,000 “police-confirmed” traffic deaths each year, more than double that here.
The result so far of Wednesday’s school van tragedy is that the Ministry of Education is urging schools and kindergartens to conduct vehicle safety checks.
“School buses that have potential safety risks must immediately be taken off the road and be repaired,” the ministry said in a statement. “Vehicles that cannot meet safety requirements are strictly banned from traveling on the roads.”
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Efforts by the American School Bus Council are paying off in New Hampshire. Though it butchered the council’s name, the Foster’s Daily Democrat reported that a school board in Durham, N.H., was presented info from the ASBC that shows why yellow school buses should be used rather than transportation provided by parents and others via passenger vehicles. It had nothing to do with safety.
Mirroring feedback ASBC gathered from parental focus groups held over the summer, the school board heard that school buses are a better, greener alternative to traffic congestion around schools. The Commute Green N.H. website says that 64,731 miles were logged using various alternative modes of transportation such as carpooling, bicycling, walking, transit and telecommuting.
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For proof that things aren’t getting any better for schools in this economy, The Associated Press reported this week that public education in California faces $1 billion in additional cuts because of lower than expected tax revenue. In fact, Gov. Jerry Brown hoped for a $4 billion increase when the new state budget was passed last summer.
How those cuts may affect transportation are unclear, but we’ll stay on it. As The Washington Times wrote earlier this week, there’s a new slogan summing up public school education nationwide: No cuts left behind.
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A new video from the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition features biodiesel usage in school buses. Brewton (Ala.) City Schools at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year opted to use B20 in its entire fleet of buses after grant money helped the district thoroughly clean its existing diesel fuel tank to house the blend. Greenhouse gases are reportedly reduced by 85 percent and unburned hydrocarbons by 20 percent. Superintendent Lynn Smith said an added benefit is increased lubricity as the district does not employ a school bus mechanic on site.
The video also discusses the benefits of biodiesel in municipal vehicles in Hoover, Ala., and in Alabama Power diesel vehicles.
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Just last month, John Fothergill, a school bus driver in Iowa, was awarded with the Blue Bird Heroism Award during the annual NAPT Awards Banquet for safely evacuating students before a fire engulfed the yellow vehicle. This week in Portland, Ore., bus driver Kay Brown responded quickly when she noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The article noted that it was not immediately clear if any of the students with disabilities on board had mobility issues.
