On December 11, the Government Portal reported that Decree No. 151/2024/ND-CP of the Government stipulates that commercial vehicles used to transport preschool children and students (as stipulated in Point a, Clause 1, Article 46 of the Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order) must be painted dark yellow on the outside of the vehicle body.
At the same time, the front and two sides of the vehicle above the windows must have signs identifying it as a vehicle specifically used to transport preschool children and students.
Vehicles used for transportation combined with activities of picking up and dropping off preschool children and students (as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 46 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety) must have signs identifying them as vehicles carrying preschool children and students placed on the front and two sides of the vehicle above the windows.
The above regulation takes effect from January 1, 2025.
Many studies and development history of school buses in countries around the world show that dark yellow has a strong impact on the eyes of the viewer, thereby increasing the ability to identify the vehicle even in harsh weather conditions such as: fog, rain, day or night.
This is important to help prevent accidents involving school buses, and has been done by many countries for a long time.
To ensure order and road traffic safety for cars carrying preschool children and students, Article 46 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety clearly states:
Vehicles used for transporting preschool children and students must ensure the conditions specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 35 of this Law; have equipment to record images of preschool children and students and equipment with warning functions to prevent children from being left behind in the vehicle; have a usage period of no more than 20 years; and have paint colors according to Government regulations.
When transporting preschool children and primary school students, there must be at least 1 manager on each vehicle to guide, supervise, maintain order and ensure the safety of preschool children and primary school students throughout the trip. In the case of vehicles with 29 seats or more (excluding the driver's seat) transporting 27 preschool children and primary school students or more, there must be at least 2 managers on each vehicle.
The manager and driver are responsible for checking preschool children and primary school students when getting off the vehicle; preschool children and primary school students must not be left on the vehicle when the manager and driver have left the vehicle.
Drivers of cars transporting preschool children and students must have at least 2 years of experience driving passenger vehicles.
Educational establishments must develop procedures to ensure safety when transporting and picking up preschool children and students; instruct drivers and managers of preschool children and students to understand and properly implement the procedures; and be responsible for ensuring order and road traffic safety when transporting and picking up preschool children and students of that educational establishment.
