§ Mr. HumeTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what possible measures have been considered to help reduce road traffic accidents involving children disembarking from school buses; whether a cost-benefit analysis was conducted of each possible measure; and what decisions have been made as a result of such appraisals.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 16 May 1989]: The following measures have been considered and implemented to help reduce road traffic accidents involving children disembarking from school buses:
- (a) Rule 24 of the current edition of the Northern Ireland Highway Code sets out the safety rules for getting on or off buses.
- (b) Rule 53 of the Highway Code warns drivers to look out for children getting on or off buses.
- (c) Every year since 1973 the Department of the Environment has provided a free copy of a road safety teaching calendar to every primary school teacher in Northern Ireland. This teaching aid always has at least one road safety lesson about getting on and off school buses safely.
- (d) In conjunction with the Education and Library boards the Department's road safety education branch produced a leaflet for parents about safety of children on school buses which has been distributed with bus passes.
- (e) In consultation with road safety education branch the transport officers of the Education and Library boards have issued a safety manual to all board drivers, which includes instructions about the safety of children entering and leaving school buses.
Suggestions about Education boards employing bus wardens and about traffic being required to stop in rural areas when the school bus stops and a flashing roof light is operating, have been examined but were considered to be impractical or unlikely to be effective.
No cost benefit analyses have been conducted on any of these measures.