Page 34 - 151 Varsity Ebook

32 / OUR COMMUNITY

Road traffic congestion is nothing times describe it as a roller coaster school buses riding in the city are
new in busy Hong Kong every morn- ride.” without safer seat or safety belt in-
ing. Among the many vehicles flood- Li thinks the children are not well stalled.
ing the roads across the city are 5,212 protected due to the lack of safety
school buses conveying tens of thou- belts on school buses. “I think it is Concerns from the service provider
sands of school pupils from homes to necessary that children fasten their Lam Chi-ping, chairperson of
school. safety belts. However, there may not School Buses Operators Association,
Out of the 50 school bus accidents be safety belt on the bus or the school says parents nowadays are more cau-
that took place between 2014 and bus attendants do not require the chil- tious about school bus safety. “Parents
2018, one of the most severe school dren to do so because they will get off always ask if there is any safety belt
bus accidents happened when a bus from the bus soon.” available on the school bus to be reas-
rammed into a road divider in Kow- The Transport Department re- sured.”
loon Bay in December last year, injur- quires all student service vehicles reg- He says there is concern hanging
ing seven students aged between six istered on or after May 1 2009 to in- in the air when it comes to mandatory
and 11. stall “safer seats” – strong and closely installation of safety
Ms Li, whose nine-year-old daugh- spaced seats with high and energy-ab- belts.
ter studies on Hong Kong Island, rais- sorbing seat backs – to reduce the risk “After some
es concern about school bus safety. of students being thrown out of their previous coach
“Children do not fasten their safety seats and the extent of the injuries in accidents, some
belts when they are on board. There’s vehicle collisions. people have de-
no seatbelt on the coach,” Li says. “It However, safety belts are not re- manded shuttle
worries me that the driver might be quired by law. The department’s fig- bus companies to
driving too fast as the children some- ures show by January, 22 per cent of install safety belts,”
Lam Chi-ping