Road Traffic Order and Safety Law takes effect from January 1, 2025. The law dedicates one article with six clauses regulating road traffic order and safety for cars transporting preschool children and students. The law introduces regulations to prevent incidents of forgetting children and students on vehicles, as there have been tragic and socially upsetting cases in the past.
Mr. Xuan Dac - a principal in Ho Chi Minh City - agrees with the regulations issued by the law. Mr. Dac stated that measures to ensure student safety when traveling by school bus have been planned and are expected to be implemented soon.
"Each student using the school bus will be issued a card with a chip, containing basic information about the student. When boarding the bus, students will swipe the card to confirm they have boarded, and upon arrival at school, they will swipe the card again to confirm they have arrived. This way, parents can be assured that their children have arrived at school safely," Mr. Dac said.
According to Mr. Dac, the school bus service has been in place for many years, with about 80 students registered to use the service in the previous school year. The school implements the student transportation service by contracting with a cooperative.
"The law includes regulations that the current school buses do not yet meet, such as paint color and warning devices. Initially, there will likely be some difficulties in implementation. However, I believe that the bus operators will comply well afterward. The school will work with the cooperative to require them to make changes to meet the legal requirements. If they do not comply, the school will terminate the contract and find another partner," Mr. Dac affirmed.
Sharing more on this issue, Mr. Dac believes that the person in charge of this work is still the most important factor, determining whether incidents occur or not. The school annually organizes sessions for students to raise their awareness of traffic safety and equip them with knowledge to protect themselves. Additionally, drivers are regularly reminded to check the number of students each time they pick up and drop off students.
Recently, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training (DOET) recommended that transport business cars carrying preschool children and students must have devices to record images of the children; equip devices with warning functions to prevent leaving children behind on the bus.
It requires units organizing school bus services and subsidized student bus services to regularly review safety measures, absolutely not cooperate with businesses that have unsafe vehicles for transporting students...
Additionally, from the 2024-2025 school year, Ho Chi Minh City aims for 100% of educational institutions to integrate traffic safety education into the official curriculum to raise students' awareness when participating in traffic.
