Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is running inspections of their buses operating to 286 schools and nurseries in Dubai.
RTA’s visits to schools is based on the number of violations reported during the previous academic year.
The inspection covers the security and safety of buses, permits for drivers and attendants, and the cleanliness of buses.
Field inspectors carry out periodic safety inspections on school buses to ensure their compliance with the requirements of the school bus transport services.
RTA has also set safety standards for operating school buses such as setting a cap on the speed limit of buses such that they should not exceed 80 km/h. Each bus must be fitted with a speed control device.
Each bus must contain a First Aid kit the contents of which must conform to the number of seats. It should have a 6 kg fire extinguisher dedicated to extinguishing all types of fires and placed in a designated place near the driver’s seat and a sign should indicate its position. The extinguishers have to comply with a set of guidelines such as having one 6 kg fire extinguisher on buses with less than 50 riders, and two 6 kg fire extinguishers on buses with more than 50 riders.
All models of buses designated for transporting students must not be older than 15 years from the date of manufacture. Each bus must have emergency exits commensurate with the number of passengers, with at least one emergency exit on each side, excluding the exit or the driver’s door which are not classified as emergency exit doors. The locations of these exits should be clearly marked, and no obstacles should be placed in a way that prevents the accessibility of riders to these exits during emergency cases.
All school buses must be subjected to an electronic GPS tracking system enabling identifying the locations of buses. Safety belts with double hooks must be fitted to all seats exposed from the front, such as the front seats and the middle seat of the last seats. The driver’s seat must have triple hooks. To prevent accidents for students inside and outside the bus, all internal and external parts of the bus must not have sharp edges.
