Chamber
Plenary, 23 Nov 2006
23 Nov 2006 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
School Bus Safety
I thank Alex Neil for initiating this worthwhile debate. School bus safety for our primary and secondary students is sometimes overlooked, but it is extremely important. The Education Committee refers safety concerns to the Department for Transport time and again because the means to effect safety are reserved, but as school bus safety becomes a more pressing issue in local authorities it is our duty to highlight flaws in the system and to work to fix them.
As Alex Neil said, the Scottish School Board Association, supported by the Scottish Executive, provides a safe school travel pack that contains advice for school staff, parents and students on how to make the journey to and from school as safe as possible. However, that is not enough. Our duty as members of the Scottish Parliament is to ensure that legislation is in place to protect all Scotland's people. We need more than an advice pack to protect our youngest members of society and to keep them safe on the roads.
The issue's prominence was recently addressed by David Cameron, who created a working group in the Conservative party at Westminster to address school bus safety. We can do our part by putting our heads together and focusing on how we can improve the transportation system for Scotland's students.
Statistics tell us that in 2005 more than 700,000 students were enrolled in primary and secondary schools and that more than 150,000 of them travelled by bus each day. Legislation that the Conservative party introduced in the 1980s stipulates that coaches and minibuses must have seat belts available for every student when more than three children who are aged between three and 16 are being transported on organised trips. The legislation also specifies reflective school bus signs and hazard lights to alert oncoming motorists. Legislation from October 2001 requires all minibuses, coaches and buses to be manufactured with seat belts. Those regulations have been put in place to protect our children's best interests by addressing the availability of seat belts and by attempting to safeguard children as they get off and on the bus, but many other problems must be addressed if we are effectively to secure the safety of our children as they travel to school by bus.
All school districts have to worry about school bus safety. Urban schools benefit from well-lit streets and formal walkways that children can use on their trips to and from school. Special attention must be paid to rural schools, because children are often not afforded the same degree of safety there. Local authorities decide who is permitted to ride the bus to school. In some school districts, children under eight still walk two miles to school each day, while other students walk up to three miles each way. They often walk along dark pathways. With the seasonal change and early sunset, the dimly lit, unsupervised footpaths present imminent danger. We cannot sit by and allow our children to tempt fate daily.
If we insist that children continue their long walks to and from school, infrastructure must be inspected and lighting must be installed in poorly lit areas. Our priority is to protect our youngest members of society.
We must ensure that all students who take the bus to school use their seat belts at all times; that buses, minibuses and coaches are properly inspected and are up to date with safety regulations; and that bus drivers are adequately equipped with the knowledge and skill to transport students safely.
We might benefit from taking note of the yellow bus scheme in the United States. It stipulates that all buses are subject to safety standards on body and chassis construction, mirrors and exterior safety devices, which include stop signs that extend from the bus to halt oncoming traffic and warning lights to alert motorists of children boarding or leaving the bus. US bus drivers are also required to pass school bus driving tests before they are permitted to transport schoolchildren.
School bus safety should be a concern of every parent, student and authority in Scotland. We must acknowledge the changes that need to be made to ensure the safety of our children and actively pursue methods that allow such change.
As Alex Neil said, the Scottish School Board Association, supported by the Scottish Executive, provides a safe school travel pack that contains advice for school staff, parents and students on how to make the journey to and from school as safe as possible. However, that is not enough. Our duty as members of the Scottish Parliament is to ensure that legislation is in place to protect all Scotland's people. We need more than an advice pack to protect our youngest members of society and to keep them safe on the roads.
The issue's prominence was recently addressed by David Cameron, who created a working group in the Conservative party at Westminster to address school bus safety. We can do our part by putting our heads together and focusing on how we can improve the transportation system for Scotland's students.
Statistics tell us that in 2005 more than 700,000 students were enrolled in primary and secondary schools and that more than 150,000 of them travelled by bus each day. Legislation that the Conservative party introduced in the 1980s stipulates that coaches and minibuses must have seat belts available for every student when more than three children who are aged between three and 16 are being transported on organised trips. The legislation also specifies reflective school bus signs and hazard lights to alert oncoming motorists. Legislation from October 2001 requires all minibuses, coaches and buses to be manufactured with seat belts. Those regulations have been put in place to protect our children's best interests by addressing the availability of seat belts and by attempting to safeguard children as they get off and on the bus, but many other problems must be addressed if we are effectively to secure the safety of our children as they travel to school by bus.
All school districts have to worry about school bus safety. Urban schools benefit from well-lit streets and formal walkways that children can use on their trips to and from school. Special attention must be paid to rural schools, because children are often not afforded the same degree of safety there. Local authorities decide who is permitted to ride the bus to school. In some school districts, children under eight still walk two miles to school each day, while other students walk up to three miles each way. They often walk along dark pathways. With the seasonal change and early sunset, the dimly lit, unsupervised footpaths present imminent danger. We cannot sit by and allow our children to tempt fate daily.
If we insist that children continue their long walks to and from school, infrastructure must be inspected and lighting must be installed in poorly lit areas. Our priority is to protect our youngest members of society.
We must ensure that all students who take the bus to school use their seat belts at all times; that buses, minibuses and coaches are properly inspected and are up to date with safety regulations; and that bus drivers are adequately equipped with the knowledge and skill to transport students safely.
We might benefit from taking note of the yellow bus scheme in the United States. It stipulates that all buses are subject to safety standards on body and chassis construction, mirrors and exterior safety devices, which include stop signs that extend from the bus to halt oncoming traffic and warning lights to alert motorists of children boarding or leaving the bus. US bus drivers are also required to pass school bus driving tests before they are permitted to transport schoolchildren.
School bus safety should be a concern of every parent, student and authority in Scotland. We must acknowledge the changes that need to be made to ensure the safety of our children and actively pursue methods that allow such change.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh):
Con
The final item of business tonight is a members' business debate on motion S2M-4833, in the name of Alex Neil, on school bus safety. The debate will be concl...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes that in certain local authority areas in Ayrshire and elsewhere there is a concern about the need to tighten up the rules and guide...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I begin by outlining briefly the existing legal framework on the issue, which is vital to the safety of children travelling to and from school. The Education...
Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP):
SNP
Does the member share my concern that although a person driving a private vehicle must have a passenger service vehicles licence to transport children in a b...
Alex Neil:
SNP
Absolutely. That is another gap and another reason why the law needs to be substantially reviewed.The three Ayrshire local authorities' policy—it is also tha...
Dave Petrie (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I thank Alex Neil for initiating this worthwhile debate. School bus safety for our primary and secondary students is sometimes overlooked, but it is extremel...
Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green):
Green
I have a little experience of driving school buses.
The Deputy Minister for Education and Young People (Robert Brown):
LD
I am sure that Stewart Stevenson must have, too.
Robin Harper:
Green
As a teacher, I used to take groups of young people around in minibuses. I had a special licence. It was not a public service vehicle licence, but I was trai...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
Contrary to Robert Brown's sedentary remark, I have never a driven a school bus. Indeed, I will go further than that and inform members that I have never use...
Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol):
Sol
I thank Alex Neil for securing the debate. This is an extremely important issue. The Education Committee has received a number of petitions about school tran...
Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con):
Con
I had not intended to be here for this debate but I am delighted that I am because for once it is a quality debate.Robin Harper and I recently spoke at a con...
Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
On anomalies, does the member acknowledge that, although 90 per cent of three and four-year-olds go to nursery education, school transport is not provided be...
Mr Davidson:
Con
I accept that, and I thank the member for making the point.Drivers are very concerned about public safety. The schools want to take action and the local auth...
Robert Brown:
LD
Although the issue has come up, I do not want to use this debate to go on about funding. However, does the member accept that, in grant-aided expenditure all...
Mr Davidson:
Con
All I can say in reply is that, yes, I acknowledge that, as do councils. However, there is also deprivation in rural areas and it comes in different forms. D...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
Alex Neil has initiated an extremely important debate. Different speeches have highlighted different aspects of the safety of our children on the buses that ...
The Deputy Minister for Education and Young People (Robert Brown):
LD
I congratulate Alex Neil on securing the debate, which, as members have said, is on an important subject. I am always open to listening to expressions of con...
Dave Petrie:
Con
I had a major dispute with Argyll and Bute Council, which tried to alter the mileage limit for school bus travel from two miles to one mile. Would it be poss...
Robert Brown:
LD
There has been a fair bit of controversy in a number of areas. Somebody raised an issue with me about children who go to the same school and live within stre...
Stewart Stevenson:
SNP
I accept that regulating is a matter for the UK Parliament, but does the minister accept that it is possible to require contractual terms of the local author...
Robert Brown:
LD
Yes. I was making the point in the context of explaining the use that the Scottish Executive makes of guidance on school transport.Dave Petrie made a valuabl...
Fiona Hyslop rose—
SNP
Robert Brown:
LD
I have taken enough interventions.A point was made about statistics. The annual road traffic accident statistics for Scotland provide data on the number of c...
Alex Neil:
SNP
Although the councils might not have identified the issues to the Executive, a number of school boards in all three Ayrshire authorities have identified the ...
Robert Brown:
LD
If Alex Neil has evidence of problems, I am more than happy for him to write to me about them or to meet him.Many generalised points have been made, but exam...
Meeting closed at 17:47.