China orders safety checks on school buses ahead of new semester

BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Traffic management departments across China have been asked to intensify safety inspections on school buses as the fall semester approaches, the Ministry of Public Security said on Saturday.

Kindergartens, primary and middle schools, and enterprises that provide school transportation services were urged to conduct safety checks on their vehicles under the supervision of local traffic management departments.

Targeting potential hazards concerning vehicles, drivers and driving routes, and illegal acts such as overspeeding and overloading, the safety inspections aimed to ban unqualified vehicles and personnel from the industry, said the ministry's traffic management bureau.

The bureau called for more public attention to students' road safety and strengthened education in this regard. It also demanded drivers to give way to school buses.