ROP issues guidelines for school bus drivers

With the government schools likely to open for the new school year on September 4, Royal Oman Police (ROP) has issued guidelines for bus drivers to ensure the safe transportation of students.

The instructions are significant because speeding, negligence, bad behaviour and not keeping a safe distance are among the main causes of traffic accidents in the country, according to the latest statistics.

Subsequently, most accidents are due to vehicle collisions or hitting fixed objects. Colonel Khamis bin Ali al Batashi, Assistant Director General of Traffic, said, "ROP has taken many measures in coordination with the Ministry of Education and in line with the Traffic Law and its executive regulations. The roads will witness traffic congestion, especially at peak times, and therefore traffic patrols will work to facilitate traffic and deal with all that obstructs traffic, especially in places with more congestion than others. Traffic patrols will facilitate the movement of buses, give them priority in traffic, and monitor the extent to which the bus driver adheres to traffic rules and regulations, and the number of allowed on a bus."

He said that all drivers of public and private school buses must be careful when approaching student gathering places and not move until after making sure that all students have crossed the streets. They should stop buses in their designated places, whether in front of schools or after work is completed."

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