Overview
Unquestionably The most straightforward way for students to Transportation is by school bus.
However, students who travel in school buses must deal with several safety concerns.
Consequently, there are many laws in place to ensure safety.
The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) summed up the advantages of these laws as offering convenience, security, and safety to parents and students.
These advantages include being on time for school, lowering pollution emissions from vehicle exhausts, and lowering traffic congestion.
The Road and Transport Authority (RTA).
The Roads and Transport Authority has made the following control measures available to schools, parents, and transportation providers.
Controlling actions:
- School buses of International Curriculum schools in Sharjah may only have 30 percent or less tinted windows and may only be opened 10 cm up or 10 cm down; curtains are not permitted.
- With a speed control device installed that complies with the requirements and conditions set forth by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, the maximum speed of the school bus shall not exceed 80 km/h .
Exterior bus specifications:
- RAL 1018 Zink Gelb GL841 is the only color that may not overlap with the bus color unless the manufacturer cannot paint specific bus components (i.e.)The color of such components, such as the front bumper and other non-metallic ones, must be black.
- In Arabic and English, the word “School Bus” must be written in a bold, no smaller than 80 inch (20 cm) tall font.
- It must be written in the middle of both sides of the bus and between the upper hazard lights on the front and back or at the top of those sides.
- No more than 1500 square centimeters may be used for the word “School Bus” and the driver’s name or any other third party.
- The school bus of American schools in Dubai must be equipped with an electronic stop rod on the outside, directly behind the driver’s door, so that when it stops, the word “Stop” is electronically displayed outward, and two red lights flash.
- The bus must be equipped with the following lighting and signaling system.
- Two red light indicators are on the uppermost portion of the bus’s front and back sides.
- Two yellow light indicators are on the uppermost portion of the bus’s front and back sides.
- All light indicators must begin flashing warning signals when the bus stops.
- Every bus must have a “School Bus” sign on the right front and left back sides.
- The sign should be reflective for large buses and measure 25 by 25 cm; for minibusses, it should measure 17 by 17 cm.
- School buses must have no more than 30 percent tinted windows, with a maximum opening of 10 cm from either the top or side. Curtains are not permitted.
- It is strictly forbidden to install bars on windows, either internally or externally.
- The uppermost sides of the right and left sides of the bus rear sides must both bear the bus number.
- All sides of the bus must be visible in the mirror system.
Details about the interior of the bus and the seats:
- No middle seats that collapse are to be used; instead, the manufacturer’s recommended number of seats must be followed.
- The backside of seats must be cleared of all solid objects, including ashtrays, armrests, and side hand rests.
- Every school bus must have a cooling system to function at no higher than 24 degrees Celsius.
- Bag storage space is required, but it must not obstruct student movement or fall on them in an accident, a sudden stop, or even during routine bus movement.
- To make boarding more accessible, the bus’ two doors must be equipped with handrails.
- Both nonslippery and inflammable rubber must cover the bus aisle’s floor.
- Driver control over the door’s opening and closing mechanism is required, and electronic control is preferred.
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Bus Safety Standards:
- When equipped with a speed control device and operating following the requirements laid out by the Emirates Authority for Standardization, the maximum speed of a school bus shall not exceed 80 km/h.
- Each bus must have a first aid kit in proportion to the number of seats.
- The following manual fire extinguishers must be installed on the bus:
- if the school bus is under 10 meters long, one 6-kg fire extinguisher
- Two fire extinguishers are required if the school bus is 10 meters or longer.
- All-purpose fire extinguishers must be used and be located near the driver’s seat in a specific location marked with a sign.
- As of the date of manufacture, the school bus’ lifespan cannot be longer than 15 years.
- According to the number of passengers, the school bus must have emergency exits, which must be marked.
- In an emergency, obstacles must not block students’ movement.
- All front-open passenger seats on the bus, including the front and middle seats in the last row, must be equipped with 2-buckle safety belts.
- Three-point safety belts are required for the driver’s seat.
- Interior and exterior bus sides cannot have any sharp edges.
- In addition to one emergency exit on each side of buses with more than 16 seats, school buses must have emergency exits proportionate to the number of passengers.
- Emergency doors do not include the driver’s door or the exit door.
- Elevated backrests at least 71 cm high are required on all seats.
- In addition, the seat size (for single and double seats, respectively) must not be less than 40 cm and 64 cm, respectively.
- Buses for students must not have triple seats.
- All seats must be made of shock-absorbing materials and fully padded on all sides.
- Secure emergency exits must be located on the bus’s right, left, back, and top sides.
