Crowded school buses, possibility of accidents a concern for parents

AMMAN — It only took Wafaa Abu Samra one phone call to have her children's private school allocate an additional bus ride to and from home to spare them the inconvenience of an overcrowded bus.

Abu Samra, whose three daughters are studying in the seventh, sixth and first grades at a private school in the capital’s Shafa Badran neighbourhood, said a single bus tour had been previously arranged to her home in the Tlaa Al Ali area “to save the expenses of an extra trip”.

“But the school immediately fulfilled my request and split the students into two bus trips,” she told The Jordan Times on Sunday, noting that the school's bus drivers abide by traffic regulations.

But unlike Abu Samra, Salameh Nawaiseh, is “worried" about his son, a fourth grader at a private school in the Jubeiha area, because of the attitudes of some school bus drivers.

But Nawaiseh has no choice, as he has to reach his workplace at the same time the school bell rings at 8am.

“Sometimes school buses don't park properly on the side of the road when picking or dropping off students,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding that many school buses are overcrowded.

“Bus supervisors do not always do their jobs in keeping children seated and helping the little ones get on and off, especially with the high bus steps,” Nawaiseh said.

According to Amen FM, the radio station of the Public Security Department, a private school bus hit a “stationary object” in Hashmi area on Sunday morning, which resulted in five injuries.

Commenting on the commitment of school bus drivers to general traffic safety principles, Private School Owners Association President Munther Sourani said only one or two accidents are reported annually, despite the “large” number of buses, which stands at around 11,400 vehicles.

He attributed the “very limited” number of accidents to the fact that school buses are on the road for no more than three hours daily, and the mileage of a single bus does not exceed 100 kilometres a day.

Sourani added that “strict” measures are taken to guarantee the safety of students and others on the road, noting that the Education Ministry informs private schools of traffic regulations pertaining to buses.

“Bus drivers at private schools attend annual courses at the Jordan Traffic Institute, and they have to obtain a special permit in addition to their driving licence to be allowed to drive school buses,” he said.

Up to 95 per cent of school buses are “modern” and undergo “regular maintenance”, Sourani added, noting that crowded streets as well as some violations by school bus drivers can sometimes lead to accidents.

In October last year, a six-year-old girl died when a school bus ran her over after she had disembarked with her brother in front of their house.

The Central Traffic Department said it “regularly” follows up on school buses' abidance by general safety principles.

Maj. Jalal Rahahleh, director of public relations at the department, said safety principles “are known to drivers of school buses” and mainly include keeping students seated as the bus moves, keeping the aisles empty, and committing to the number of seats without overcrowding.

He added that buses should have signs warning of repetitive and sudden stops, and must park on the right side of the road and pick up passengers from the sidewalk.