Are school buses safe?

9 comments

1. My dad used to drive them. Said they are grand. Very rarely there’s issues. If anything the issues are usually parents. It’ll probably be a subcontractor like Fair Isle Tours doing it.

2. >The RSA said it employs a strategy of targeting those thought to be most at risk of non-compliance both at the roadside and when conducting inspections at operator premises, therefore the figures are not indicative of the compliance of the entire national bus fleet.

   So the inspections were aimed at busses/companies which they suspected of being problematic (including repeated inspections) and would not be representative of the fleet as a whole.

3. I’d imagine if you look at the statistics, car fatalities would be much more common than buses. You’re probably even more likely to get hit by a bus.

   Throw your child on the bus, be grand.

4. Whatever your decision, you should make it quickly.

   While you applied not expecting to be accepted and are not sure but it, other families have also applied and are desperate to be offered a place.

5. Many school buses are private contractors sub contracted by bus eireann.

   Every year these private companies have to apply to the LPSV/PSV inspector to have their buses or cars inspected to get a section 60 school bus licence to carry children to and from school.

   Contact your local PSV guard if you’d like information.

   Edit: if its a private company their buses are inspected every 3 years.

6. I would ask these questions
   Are there seatbelts on buses? Does your child sit in a booster and wear a seatbelt in your car. Can your child stay seated quietly on a bus seat unsupervised for the duration of every journey? Can your child make rational and informed decisions based on their surroundings. Are there teenagers on the bus? Are there adults on the bus?

   If you can save a few bob it’s probably worth the risk. The memorial to the other child means there’s a good chance that lessons have been learned.

7. In general if it’s a Bus Éireann school transport scheme, firstly you’ll have children of all ages on it, so your child should be fine as if there was an indecent behaviour occurring it wouldn’t be long until it’s reported or some parents will have made a complaint. Interestingly, I used to use the service and I remembered we’d a dodgy operator, they were only temporary as our main bus driver unfortunately developed a severe medical illness and was undergoing treatment. Anyways, what happened was we’d a different bus with slightly lesser capacity than normal, we were going fine for most of the time with some students being out, but one day everyone was in and some ended up sitting on the floor of the bus. And yes, parents of those students were furious and got onto Bus Eireann and it was immediately sorted, so they do listen to parent concerns.

   And out of all my years on it, that was the one odd time that it fell below standards, but as I say complain if you’re unhappy about something like that, but your child should be fine in general.

   And also on a safety perspective, your chances of crashing your car on the way to bringing your child to school is the same as a bus driver crashing theirs, and maybe the bus may be more safer than a car due to its robustness, although I will leave that debate to those who’ve knowledge on vehicle safety.

8. Yes very safe

9. Youre statistically safer in a bus rather than a car in ireland.

   But I’m not sure what comfort that would give you.