Best practical standards

Updated: 2012-01-10 08:22

(China Daily)

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There should be no question that school buses should be the safest possible.

Since the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology solicited opinions on the published standards from Dec 27 to Jan 8, the debate on school buses has focused on whether the standards should follow those of the United States.

Some manufacturers not only argue that these safety standards are so high they will only increase the cost of buses so that they are unaffordable for the underdeveloped rural areas that need them most, they will also prevent small and medium-sized firms from manufacturing them.

The relevant departments have organized experts to deliberate on all the solicited opinions before adopting a final version of the standards.

But there is no reason for the government to consider whether small or medium-sized manufacturers will be able to seize a slice of this cake, since it is not a project to help enterprises experiencing difficulties get orders.

Simply stated, the standards should be as high as central and local government funds allow.

The central government needs to calculate how much money it and the local governments can invest, and on that basis how much can be spent on each school bus. Experts can then be organized to discuss how the safest possible school buses can be designed and manufactured for the amount of money available.

Investigations and careful calculations must be properly conducted to make sure that the standards will ensure the safety of students without making the vehicles prohibitively expensive for schools in underdeveloped areas.

And it is essential that in determining the standards, the condition of the roads in the underdeveloped regions is taken into consideration.

There has been some concern that the decision-making process might be hijacked by corporate interests, but while our peculiar national conditions will often entail plenty of compromises, there must be no compromise on providing the best possible safety for school buses that we can afford.

(China Daily 01/10/2012 page8)