It’s that time of the year again when parents and guardians can sigh in relief after a long six weeks of all-over-the-place-ness! But, before we can fully return to our pre-school holidays routines, there’s lots of prep to be done to get students ready for their new year at school and that includes reminders about bus safety. Still considered one of the safest ways to go, bus travel is not without incident, which is why education at an early age is a good idea.
The Bus Industry Confederation, government, the NHVR and other industry bodies implement various initiatives to inform improvements to bus travel safety on the part of vehicles, drivers, road rules, infrastructure and passengers.
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Road Safety Week prompts what to do and what not to do around buses, while New South Wales’ ‘Be Bus Aware’ initiative last year prompted us to give buses plenty of space and to exercise caution around blind spots. The NHVR’s ‘We All Need Space’ campaign also served to remind road users how to share roads safely with buses.
Last year, the DITRDCA set up a Bus Safety Working Group to regulate safety. The Group’s mandate includes standardising bus doors, updating bus driver safety screens and improving seatbelts, signage and usage reminders. The Rural and Regional Bus Seat Belt Program ensures buses travelling on high crash-risk outer metro roads are fitted with seatbelts. In 2024, 82 dedicated school buses in NSW’s Hunter region had seatbelts installed.
The BIC similarly provides support through the development of operator guidelines and advisories on fire safety and passenger door safety, among others, as well as numerous papers to government and reviews. Its 2023 Safety Initiatives Paper details eight bus safety enhancements and recommendations that cover three general themes, updates to new technologies, community education via national campaigns, and improvements to driver background checks. Read the paper via bic.asn.au/publications.
School bus passenger safety has always been a top priority, however external measures aren’t always enough to avoid incidents, with a total of 90 fatalities involving buses carrying school-aged children occurring between 1989 and 2020 (half due to pedestrians and cyclists).
The BusSAFE initiative works to prevent these unfortunate occurrences through bus safety education sessions across Australian primary schools, teaching children how behaviour can directly affect safety in and around buses. Key messages include safe, respectful bus stop and onboard behaviour, safe seatbelt, headphone and phone use, and what to do in an emergency.
The program was officially launched last year in September during the National Bus and Coach Show in Brisbane.
“Ensuring safety is a key part of our shared mission in the bus industry,” BusSA executive director Craig Spurr says.
“Empowering students with knowledge and skills to help keep themselves and others safe is an investment in the future.
“Promoting a life-long safety mindset will also contribute to the ongoing safety of our drivers.”
On the back of a successful three-year pilot in South Australia – with over 5,000 students attending sessions – the trial was extended to Queensland and Tasmania from term four 2024 throughout 2025. Sessions are free for rural/regional public schools during the trial, and also for private schools.
For more information, please visit bussafe.com.au.
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