BEIJING, April 7 -- The city is launching safety spot checks of elementary school buses after a series of recent accidents elsewhere in the country, the Shanghai Education Commission said yesterday.

    Drawing on officers from the traffic police, the citywide check will focus on buses used by migrant schools and schools in suburban areas.

    Starting yesterday, district education bureaus were required to begin checking all school buses that are now in use in the city.

    Technical examinations should also be conducted to prevent malfunctioning vehicles from being operated.In addition, schools are being required to buy insurance for all their vehicles and student passengers. Only veteran drivers with good driving records are allowed to be hired.

    School buses that fail to meet safety regulations will be ordered to stop running immediately, the commission said.

    "Unlicensed school buses cause great risks for children's safety, and the local education authority should draw lessons from the serious accidents in other parts of the country to prevent similar cases from happening here," the commission said in a statement yesterday.

    Among those mishaps, an unlicensed kindergarten shuttle bus in Linyi, Shandong Province, caught fire on March 8 when it was taking students home after school, killing 12 children and injuring four youngsters and a teacher. Enditem

(Source: Shanghai Daily news)