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Safety culture grossly lacking
ADS

A six-year-old boy died of heatstroke after he was trapped in a van parked under the afternoon sun for several hours in Rawang.

Any caring parent, guardian or driver would not have allowed young children to open or close vehicle doors.

Upon reaching a destination to pick up or drop off children, the driver must get down from the van and open the sliding door for the passengers to get in or out.

If the van driver had done that, he would have noticed the six-year-old boy had fallen asleep on the back seat.

Not only did the driver not get down from the van, he also did not bother to count the number of children alighting at the kindergarten before driving home.

The 21-year-old driver is being investigated under Section 31 (1) of the Child Act 2001 for negligence. The van may also be impounded if it was used to carry passengers for a fee without being licensed to do so.

To prevent such tragedies from recurring, the Malaysian School Bus Association Alliance should advise school bus and van drivers to check the back seats for children that had fallen asleep or belongings left behind, as part of the standard operating procedure before driving off from the last drop off point.

Safety practices by licensed school bus and van drivers would be noticed by all and many unlicensed van and private vehicle drivers would try to emulate.

Children are not educated on safety as long as it is a mad scramble every time just before school opens or closes.

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