You would have
to live on the moon not to have heard the inquest last week on
the young lad who died while travelling home from school, Stuart
Cunningham-Jones. Stuart was on a double-decker carrying 75 pupils
home from Cowbridge Comprehensive School where it crashed in Ystradowen
in December or 2003.
The inquest brought out lots of horrific facts about how the children
or child on the bus were jostling with the driver for control
of the hooter or switches and such like while he was driving.
Ofcourse the ideal thing maybe to do would have been to pull the
bus over and refuse to go further but then everything in hindsight
gives us an answer. Drivers should not have to be the ones who
maintain law and order on the Bus they have enough to do to drive
and bring our loved one's home safe to the best of their ability
which is what they get paid for.
Plaid Cymru's Chris Franks said
recently in a newspaper article
"It's clear that the school transport system is often characterized
by old, poor quality vehicles and frequently poorly-paid staff.
"
These vehicles almost by definition will not have factory-installed
seat belts and Plaid Cymru is calling for the reintroduction
of bus grants that could help fund and improve the standard
of vehicles." Well that's fine Mr. Franks and I am sure
there is no disagreement with the principle that cost for updating
transport and underpaid drivers could be supported. There are
other issue's involved in the transportation of school children
seat belts won't keep a child in them who doesn't want to "tow
the line." This will not help the problem that is faced
by aggressive behavior on the part of some of the older children
who travel to larger comprehensive schools. Kids are not small
anymore at age's 13 and up. They can be a powerful force to
contend with especially if there is a group of them disrupting
the whole bus. How many times have you watched school bus's
arrive in Maesgeirchen with children's coats and bags being
thrown through the window. Children spitting out the windows
and abusive to pedestrians. No I know, not all children are
doing this but then the one's who don't also have to put up
with abuse and bullying on the bus while travelling home because
they don't "conform" to what the yob element want.
You soon find that the parents of the better behaved children
start taking their children to school themselves and the bus
then becomes no go area for anyone considered half way decent
to travel on. Through all this the DRIVER are then supposed
to concentrate, driving on some of our more difficult narrow
lanes, to negotiate bends and bridges and keep an eye on what's
going on.An impossible task to expect anyone to do and certainly
not in the job discription.They should not have this responsability
and burden put upon them.
Conservative candidate David
Melding said:
"Accidental death is the biggest killer of young people
and it's very important that we have a comprehensive strategy
to reduce these tragic deaths. The policies that we pursue to
transport children to school do need a comprehensive examination,
maybe that substantial improvements are required and we ought
to have a policy more akin to the American policy in terms of
bussing and ensure it is done effectively." This seems
like a sensible statement since if we did have a policy more
akin to the USA we would have the threat of imprisonment for
even attempting to overtake a bus when it had stopped to let
children get off. In USA Bus's can be seen with their bright
yellow distinctive colour and everyone knows what is expected
of them. Flashing lights are compulsory once the bus is slowing
down and stops.People know what to expect and what is expected
of them
The federal government in USA
has established standards for the construction of buses that
are classified as school buses. If classified as a school bus,
that vehicle must be built to fulfill standards that are not
applicable to passenger vehicles or non-school buses. If a vehicle
is classified as a school bus, such requirements as stop-arms,
flashing yellow and red lights, joint strength, floor strength,
crash-worthiness, roll-over protection, and seat construction
must be met whether the vehicle's capacity is 12, 47, or 66.
In the UK it is a well known fact that there is nothing "illegal"
in the 3 for 2 policy that some schools still run and the Education
authority allows. My informant will remain nameless but I know
of one Bus owner who was specifically asked to take his bus
with seat belts off the school route and swap it to his old
bus with no seat belts so that he could accomadete the increase
in children who now used the bus. Therefore using the 3 children
to 2 seats policy. The bus propriator reluctantly did what was
requested of him, but who would get the blame if something happened,
who IS getting the blame, well the Bus company's ofcourse.
The jury at the inquest of Stuart
Cunningham-Jones heard the Bus Company had complained five times
in three months about unruly pupils.
The bus industry is demanding better discipline on school buses.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport, representing bus and
coach operators, says the Welsh Assembly Government and councils
must act before anyone else dies.John
Pockett, director of CPT Wales, favors escorts on buses where
pupil behavior leaves much to be desired.
People say escorts can't keep the kids in order but an escort
could keep the kids away from the driver
Where pupils refuse to accept
the authority of an escort, perhaps somebody with stronger powers
should travel with them.
Mairwen Gwyndaf, of teachers'union Ucac, says, "You could
have special constables, or people with that status, to arrest
the children if necessary. Some of these pupils aren't children
when they're in sixth-form."
She and Mr Pockett agree that the police should be doing more
to recognize the problems faced by bus drivers. She says all
drivers should have mobile phones and a number to contact police
if necessary.
Stuart and his family are the first victims. If there's a second
victim, it's the bus driver who is subjected to abuse. Sadly,
this happens all over Wales, day in, day out.
"It's time that bus operators who provide the service are
offered some better protection.
Even in Conwy, attacks on buses
forced Arriva to divert evening services.
Official figures released in June showed assaults on bus drivers
had tripled since 1996. Almost half the attacks involved children
aged under 15 years and most happened between noon and 6pm
I have this last two weeks been
talking with some local schools, Bus contractors, and Transport
Education dept Caernarfon. The bus companies have all impressed
upon me how they strive to give the best service and quality
they can. Their bus's are well maintained and replaced when
necessary, and the drivers are experienced. They feel their
hands are tied when it comes to keeping control on the vehicle
once the children are on board. All of the one's I spoke to
have endorsed the point I made that maybe a monitor of some
sort accompany the bus so as to watch for trouble. Once a child
gets up from its seat make sure they sit again or they will
be penalized. No child likes to miss out on school trips and
favors but if this was to be one of the penalty's it would make
an impact. Also if such behavior was to continue from the same
persons they could be suspended which would leave it up to the
parents to find a way to take and fetch them to school. Such
"inconvenience" might make a point to the parents
that they then would instill upon their child that if they did
not start to behave life would not be so easy for them. It would
only take so long before the penny would begin to drop that
their behavior was not going to be tolerated. Another point
that came over and this is quite disturbing, that of all the
bus routes that most of these drivers take it is the Bangor/Maesgeirchen
areas which are the most trouble. This was not only the bigger
schools like Friars,Tryfan etc, but younger children Llandegai
School, Our Lady's Catholic School. Our Lady's Catholic School
take the trouble to come out and put seat belts on the children
but ofcourse once they are on the route home belts come off,
what can the driver possibly do about that while he is trying
to negotiate the traffic-nothing that's what.
If you think it can't happen
here look at this picture picture taken in Maesgeirchen only
last year. Not a disaster no, but if people had been standing
up, or if CHILDREN had been standing up you could have had some
nasty bumps and Insurance claims.!!!!
Continued
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