§ Dr. CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the number of accidents involving public service vehicles carrying schoolchildren from 1979 to date; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe presence of schoolchildren on a public service vehicle involved in a personal injury accident is not routinely recorded by the police. It is, however, possible to identify accidents in which children travelling to or from school on a PSV were themselves injured.. The table gives figures for 1979 to 1989:
Number of road accidents in which children, up to and including age 16, travelling to or from school on public service vehicles suffered injury or death; 1979–1989: Number 1979 207 1980 218 1981 209 1982 275 1983 281 1984 289 1985 275 1986 261 1987 219 1988 218 1989 254 Casualties resulting from these PSV accidents are:
Number of casualties in road accidents involving children travelling to or from school by Public Service Vehicle; 1979–89 Fatal Serious Slight Total 1979 2 44 348 394 1980 2 42 443 487 1981 0 29 341 370 1982 3 35 362 400 1983 2 40 375 417 1984 0 72 500 572 1985 0 43 487 530 1986 1 34 429 464 1987 0 36 451 487 1988 0 24 429 453 1989 1 47 531 579 The figures show that these casualties represent less than 0–2 per cent. of all road casualties and less than 0.1 per cent. of deaths and serious injuries.