Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3002651/seven-pupils-injured-after-driver-loses-control-school Law and Crime
Seven pupils injured after driver loses control of school bus in Hong Kong, less than six hours after similar vehicle flipped on highway
- Police say driver hit railings along road at noon outside St Antonius Primary School
- No children involved in first bus crash but two lanes heading to Cross-Harbour Tunnel were closed for 90 minutes
The bus blocked two lanes along Canal Road Flyover for more than an hour. Photo: Sam Tsang
Seven pupils sustained minor injuries after a school bus crashed in Yau Tong at noon on Thursday, the second such incident in less than six hours across Hong Kong.
Police said the bus, which was full of schoolchildren, was travelling along Yau Tong Road when the driver lost control of the vehicle outside St Antonius Primary School.
“It rammed into railings along the road. The driver called police himself,” a spokesman for the force said. “The driver and seven pupils were slightly injured and sent to United Christian Hospital in three ambulances.”
It was unknown which school the pupils attended, but police said an investigation was under way.
Separately at 6.24am, a 54-year-old driver lost control of his school bus along Canal Road Flyover, near Queen’s Road East. The vehicle, which was not carrying any children, flipped over and blocked two lanes on the flyover.
The driver and a woman, 53, were trapped in the bus and later rescued by firefighters.
The woman suffered chest fractures while the driver sustained injuries to his arms and legs.
Two lanes heading to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel were shut down for 1½ hours.
In December, four people were killed and 11 injured when an unmanned school bus rolled 100 metres down a street in North Point, hitting pedestrians and other vehicles.
The transport industry has trouble attracting younger blood to work as school bus drivers. Photo: Handout
Cheung Ying-fat, a committee member of the Public Omnibus Operators Association, said he believes school bus drivers have enough time to rest as their average working day is around five hours long. However, because of the long-time shortage of new blood in the industry, many of those driving school buses are now over 60 years old. “Elderly people feel fatigue easily and react more slowly,” Cheung said.
He is also manager of Sun Fai Transportation, which runs school bus businesses. The school bus drivers Cheung’s company recruits are mostly aged 50 or over, with some older than 60.
“We feel that there are no successors after us,” Cheung said, adding that young people tend to work for platforms like Uber and GoGoVan instead because of the flexibility and higher pay.