Foreign school buses: how to be "safest"
American school buses have "the facilities of passenger cars and the skeleton of freight cars". Image source: website of American Innocent Justice Child Safety Foundation
United States of America
Strict standards, priority right of way
In 2006, a car accident occurred in the capital of Indiana, USA. A Hummer crashed into the rear of a school bus, and the Hummer ran head-on, but the rear of the school bus was fine. Hummer is famous for its sturdy vehicles. It was originally used only by the army and the government. The sturdiness and safety of American school buses can be seen.
According to statistics, in the United States, the safety factor of school buses is 40 times that of family cars and buses. The accident rate of school bus is the lowest among all means of transportation, and the accident rate of one million kilometers is only 0.0 1, 0.04 for trains, 0.06 for airplanes and 0.96 for other road vehicles.
The reason why American school buses are so safe is the result of continuous improvement. The history of school buses in the United States is more than 100 years, and a relatively complete school bus system has been formed. American school buses have excellent hardware conditions, strict safety standards, perfect management measures, scientific manpower arrangement, and software and hardware have effectively guaranteed the safety of students.
The law guarantees the rights of school buses.
In the United States, school bus, as a system, has its legal basis. American education law stipulates that all American children must receive 12 compulsory education, and the community where children live must provide completely free education, and an important part of completely free education is "free ride on the school bus". Since the mid-1960s, the United States has implemented the compulsory school bus system.
All school buses in the United States have unified signs, namely, yellow body, large black stripes and eye-catching words "school bus". The "treatment" of American school buses is similar to that of police cars, ambulances and fire engines, even better than ambulances and fire engines. Most of the 50 States in the United States clearly stipulate the priority of school buses.
The United States "California Vehicle Driving Traffic Rules Manual" stipulates that:
When the school bus is ready to stop, the driver will stretch out a "stop" sign with white characters on a red background outside the driver's cab in advance and flash the red stop signal light. At this time, all vehicles traveling in the same direction in front of and behind the school bus must slow down immediately and stop completely.
When the school bus stops and students get on and off, all vehicles, including police cars, ambulances and fire engines, must stop at a distance of 20 feet (about 6 meters) from the school bus. Overtaking the school bus that is stopping and getting on or off students is one of the most serious traffic violations, and it will be fined 65,438 US dollars+0,000 yuan, and the driver's license will be revoked for one year.
All vehicles must slow down when passing through the area marked "campus"; When the yellow light on the "Campus" sign starts flashing, the speed of all vehicles should not exceed 25 miles (about 40 kilometers), and some campuses even stipulate that the speed should not exceed 15 miles (about 25 kilometers).
After introducing the school bus avoidance rules, the driver's handbook in Tennessee, USA, printed a warning in big red letters: "In Tennessee, the safety of children's lives exceeds all the most precious wealth!"