Public appeal for school bus safety, as government consults on new regulations for the vehicles

BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- In the wake of a number of recent tragic road accidents, the Chinese government has responded swiftly with proposed new laws to ensure the safety of school buses. While its efforts have met with some applause from the public, many have called for more to be done to ward against such tragedies.

Draft regulation on school bus safety management was made public Sunday by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, its ears pricked to gather public comment.

The draft proposed that school buses will have prioritized right of way in traffic under the command of police, the vehicles will be able to use bus lanes in rush hour, and private vehicles will be forbidden from overtaking when a school bus signals that it is picking up children.

According to an ongoing online survey conducted by Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblogging service, as of Monday afternoon, about 80 percent of respondents (3,590 out of 4,620) are in support of giving traffic priorities to school buses.

"Many privileges that government officials and their cars have in traffic are entirely unfair and outrageous, but I strongly support such privileges being given to children for their safety," Yixinyiyi wrote in a post accompanying the survey.

"Children are the future of the nation and deserve such privileges for their vulnerability in traffic," Woshiroroya wrote.