Did you know that there are over 4,000 school bus routes in operation across Australia? With tens of millions of boardings every year, buses are still classed as one of the safest ways to get around. But, even with the best provisions and intentions, mishaps can still occur, which is why teaching our children about practicing safe habits on and around buses at an early age will set them up into adulthood.
Working with the government, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and other industry bodies, the Bus Industry Confederation has helped implement a number of initiatives that have gone towards improving road rules, infrastructure and bus travel safety – not just for passengers, but other vehicles and drivers too.
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Every year, Road Safety Week reminds us about what we should and shouldn’t be doing around buses. The ‘Be Bus Aware’ initiative by the NSW Government is made up of a series of videos focussing on bus safety for all road users, from walkers and riders to drivers and those travelling on buses. Buses are big… they are heavy, and they naturally can longer to stop. Road users were reminded to give buses enough space and to be especially cautious around their blind spots.
In the same way, the NHVR’s ‘We All Need Space’ campaign, prompted us about how sharing (the road with buses) is caring. After all, giving way to a bus isn’t just polite – it’s actually the law.
This year, a Bus Safety Working Group was established by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) to further progress regulatory safety. The Group’s authority stretches across a broad range of issues gradually being reviewed, such as standardising bus door safety, updating bus driver safety screens, and improving seatbelt requirements, signage and usage reminders.
The Rural and Regional Bus Seatbelt Program was recently updated to make sure buses travelling on outer metropolitan roads with higher crash risk ratings were fitted with seatbelts. In 2024, eighty-two dedicated school buses were fitted with seatbelts in the Hunter region of NSW.
School bus passenger safety has always been a top priority for the industry and schools. However, even with the best measures in place, it’s reasonable to expect that risky behaviour at bus pick-up or while on the bus can lead to accidents.
Ninety fatalities involving buses carrying school-aged children occurred between 1989 and 2020. Half of these were caused by people outside of vehicles, like pedestrians and cyclists. Every year in Australia, around 254 bus passengers are hospitalised due to crashes.* And for every reported accident, thousands more near-misses go unreported.
BusSAFE: A shared responsibility
The bus industry’s BusSAFE initiative works to prevent incidents and loss of life via bus safety education sessions across South Australian, Queensland and Tasmanian schools.
BusSAFE teaches children how their behaviour directly impacts their safety in and around buses.
The fun, interactive presentations are delivered by trained instructors and are aligned to the Australian Curriculum (HPE, D&T) for years foundation/kindergarten to 9.
Sessions take 50 minutes to an hour and include a series of videos, role play and in-class discussions.
Currently free to rural or regional public-school students, BusSAFE sessions have been delivered to 5000 students a year in South Australia since 2022.
The program will be rolled out to schools in Tasmania and Queensland from 2024-25 via a Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative trial, with the aim of expanding across the nation following the trial.
Learn more about BusSAFE at www.bussa.asn.au/bussafe — get involved to help keep our kids and all passengers safe.
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