Guidelines for safe bus rides released

Local authorities across China are urged to take more measures to ensure safe driving of buses and strengthen guardrails on bridges to prevent accidents, according to a guideline released by the Work Safety Commission of the State Council.

The guideline, made public on Monday, was released after a bus with 15 people aboard plunged off a bridge and into the Yangtze River in October in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.

The driver of the bus and a passenger had a fight just before the accident. The driver lost control and broke through a section of guardrail before plummeting into the river. Thirteen died and two remain missing.

In the guideline on Monday, the Work Safety Commission required related government departments and local governments to learn from the accident and take more measures to prevent similar incidents from happening.

More efforts should be made to ensure buses drive safely, including improving and renovating shield facilities on the buses that separate the driver from passengers, equipping security personnel on buses that run on key routes, and conducting bus driver training to improve their abilities to handle emergencies properly, according to the guideline.

Local authorities also should thoroughly inspect guardrails on bridges and thoroughly upgrade those with safety risks, the guideline said. Other measures should be taken, such as adjusting bus routes and limiting driving speed, it said.

The guideline also requires related departments to improve coordination to improve rescue and disaster relief capabilities on the Yangtze River.

Related authorities should intensify punishment to those who violate the law, such as hitting a bus driver while the bus is in motion, and take measures to encourage passengers to stop and report incidents involving interrupting bus drivers when the bus is operational, the guideline said.