[Greens-Media] Dangerous school bus routes revealed, urgent action required – Greens

[Peter Stahel]

Dangerous school bus routes revealed, urgent action required – Greens


Now that the new government has a statewide risk assessment, they
should move immediately to improve safety on the most dangerous regional
routes, rather than wait for the establishment of the School Bus Safety
Community Advisory Committee, says Greens MP and transport spokesperson
Cate Faehrmann.
 
In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Greens obtained
the identified 'Environment III' routes, which are determined using the
prevalence of conditions such as road curvature, gradient, traffic
density and speed, and climate conditions such as fog and snow.  
 
"The previous government sat on their hands for years with a series of
reviews and assessments that went nowhere. So while the Greens support
consultation, in the mean time school kids are travelling on dangerous
routes with inadequate safety equipment," said Ms Faehrmann.
 
"The new government has the list of the most dangerous routes, so as a
bare minimum the refit of all the buses on these routes must be fast
tracked. The funding for seatbelts is there, the government needs to
mandate installation like in most other states. Do we need to wait for
an accident for this issue to be treated as urgent? 
 
"The Greens also want an immediate abolition of standing on school
buses which travel on routes with speed limits of 80kph or higher.
 
"How can the government say that improved regional school bus safety is
a priority, and then simply set up an advisory committee?", said Ms
Faehrmann.  
 
Ms Faehrmann has written to the Transport Minister requesting urgent
action and further information. The list of Environment III school bus
routes and the letter is available for download here: 
http://catefaehrmann.org/wp-content/uploads/3464663481_38b3bacac6_o-e1296007876640.jpg

Media contact: Peter Stahel 0433 005 727