School bus safety standards pass review after fatal accidents

Two mandatory safety standards for school buses passed a review by a national industry committee after a string of accidents ignited public fury, China's industrial watchdog said Friday. The approval will be significant for improving school bus safety, said an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The standards cover school buses for preschoolers above the age of three and children who are receiving nine-year compulsory education, said the official, who requested anonymity. One standard stipulates technological safety requirements for school buses, while the other lays out requirements for the size and quality of school bus seats, he said. The two documents were passed by the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization as national mandatory standards and have yet to be formally adopted. The government began to seek public opinions on four drafts of safety standards for school buses in December after school bus safety came under fire following a series of deadly accidents. A school bus overturned and fell into a ditch on Dec. 12, 2011 in east China's Jiangsu province, killing 15 people. An initial probe indicated that the bus's driver was driving the vehicle too fast and did not respond properly while trying to avoid a pedicab coming from the opposite direction. Another 21 people were killed in a school bus accident that occurred in west China's Gansu province on Nov. 16, 2011.