Province Observes School Bus Safety Week

Teachers and students in Nova Scotia can mark School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 15–21, by becoming more aware of how to be safe around and in buses.

On an average day, about 100,000 students ride on school buses in Nova Scotia. That's enough people to fill the Halifax Metro Centre seven times.

While they are travelling on a school bus, students are almost 200 times more likely to reach school and to return home safely than if they were travelling in a family vehicle, says a 1996 report from the U. S. National Safety Council.

"Today's modern school buses are among the safest vehicles on the road," said Education Minister Karen Casey.

No Nova Scotian student has ever been fatally injured in a collision involving a school bus in the province, and it has been more than 20 years since a student was seriously injured in a bus.

School buses are specifically designed to protect students and their driver in a collision. Buses are higher, bigger and heavier than most vehicles. The seats are above the normal point of impact and are designed to absorb the force of a crash.

"Nova Scotia is the only Canadian jurisdiction where school buses are examined by government inspectors and we do that twice a year," said Transportation and Public Works Minister Angus MacIsaac, whose department is responsible for road safety in the province. "This is another step government is taking to ensure the safety of our children, drivers, and all road users in Nova Scotia."

Tips on school bus safety are available on the Department of Transportation and Public Works website at www.gov.ns.ca/tran .

The Nova Scotia Safety Council is another good source of information, especially their interactive bus safety website, www.schoolbussafety.ca .

Any serious mishap involving a school bus is investigated by a special engineering team from Dalhousie University that report their findings directly to Transport Canada.

About 60 per cent of the school buses in Nova Scotia are purchased by the province and operated by a school board. The remaining 40 per cent are owned and operated by private bus companies that are hired by the boards to bring students to and from school. Private bus operators must conform to the same safety standards as school boards, which includes extensive ongoing driver training and upgrading. Students are also trained in bus safety and evacuation procedures. The same would be true for any buses operated by private schools.

Negotiations are currently underway to purchase some new school buses. Each bus would be equipped with eight convertible seats that have a built-in booster seat, in compliance with new federal and provincial school bus safety regulations that come into effect in 2007.