§ Mr. Frank Maguireasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if, in his review of the school transport system, he will consider introducing Regulations making obligatory the stopping of all other vehicles while indicator flashing lights of buses taking primary children to school are flashing.
§ Mr. ConcannonI am grateful to the hon. Member for his interesting suggestion, which I appreciate is made in the interests of road safety generally and of the safety of school-children in particular.
However, it is general policy in the United Kingdom to restrict the use of flashing lights on vehicles to a minimum, so that their impact is not diminished when used in emergencies. Moreover, many of the vehicles used for transporting school children in Northern Ireland belong to Ulsterbus and Citybus and are indistinguishable in this ròle from their normal usage.
255WI would be reluctant therefore to consider the introduction of regulations which would be a source of confusion to road users and to the public in general.