Road safety: New school bus laws planned after schoolgirl's death
The infrastructure minister is planning to bring forward legislation to prohibit drivers overtaking school buses which have stopped to drop off or pick up their passengers.There have been calls for new laws to improve school bus safety in Northern Ireland after an 11-year-old girl died after being hit by a car when exiting a school bus in Castledawson, County Londonderry, in March.Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said "tragic events" have highlighted the safety of children getting on or off school buses."I believe strengthening the law around this issue is an important step in further improving safety for children here," she said.
'Lives being devastated'
Caitlin-Rose McMullan died after being hit by a car when exiting her school bus in March.The St Pius X College, Magherafelt, pupil was described by her school as being "a very popular pupil who was always smiling".Currently in Northern Ireland there is no legal requirement for other vehicles to stop when a school bus is picking up or dropping off pupils.In some parts of the United States, it is a motoring offence to overtake a school bus when it has stopped.Safety measures in these jurisdictions include retractable stop signs on the left-hand side of buses which flashes amber or red when children are exiting.Kimmins, who announced her intention to bring the legislation forward, said she has asked her department officials to "explore the issue"."Too many families have had their world shattered by receiving the worst possible news after a loved one has set out on a routine journey," she said."I have met grieving families and heard their heart breaking stories. I am committing to introducing legislation to help prevent more lives being devastated."
'Slow down'
She added: "Whilst legislation is being prepared, there are actions we can all take that will help us reach our goal - take more care on the roads, slow down and ignore our mobile phones."Have conversations about our shared responsibility as road users with our family and friends to ensure road safety messaging reaches as wide an audience as possible."The minister also said he department is using other measures to improve road safety including "20mph zones around schools and work on the delivery of the Graduated Driver Licensing scheme".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
NI Secretary to meet with parties over how to deal with legacy
The Northern Ireland Secretary is set to hold a series of meetings with political leaders over fresh legislation to deal with the legacy of the Troubles. Hilary Benn will meet with the leaders of the four larger political parties which comprise the Stormont Executive in Belfast on Wednesday. He met with the SDLP on Tuesday. Speaking ahead of the meetings, Mr Benn emphasised that any new arrangements must have the confidence of bereaved families and of all communities. The previous government's contentious Legacy Act has been almost universally opposed by political parties and victims groups. It halted scores of cases going through the courts and inquests concerning the Troubles, and set up the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). Mr Benn also reiterated that the Government will repeal and replace the Legacy Act. The ICRIR is expected to be retained. 'This UK Government is committed to (repealing and replacing) the previous government's Legacy Act and to ensuring we have a system that is capable of delivering for all families who are seeking answers around the loss of their loved ones,' he said. 'I am continuing to work with all of the Northern Ireland parties over what should be included in that legislation. 'It is important that new legacy arrangements are capable of commanding the confidence of families and of all communities.'
BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
Oxtoby sees NI's 'growth' after securing play-off
Northern Ireland boss Tanya Oxtoby believes their 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Nations League in Zenica shows the "growth" of her Simone Magill's composed finish was cancelled out by Sofija Krajsumovic's equaliser for Bosnia, but NI saw out the draw which secured second place in the group and a promotion is an improvement on their third-place finish in the last edition of the Nations League, and despite the nervy nature of the draw, Oxtoby praised the application of her players to grind out a result."It's always a difficult place to come with the travel, I thought we should have scored a few more in the first half and we conceded a sloppy one, but to show the character to see the game out that's all that matters at this point," she said."In international football there are no easy games, I said all along every game was going to be competitive in this group and you have to show the character and resilience."You have to win when it's not pretty and get results when it's not pretty and we've certainly done that when there have been times previously when we haven't, so for me, that is growth." NI success 'takes everyone' Northern Ireland will now face one of Austria, Belgium, Denmark or Iceland in the play-offs in October after those four sides finished third in their respective League A groups, with the draw taking place on was keen to stress that NI being in a position to reach League A for the first time takes a whole squad effort, particularly after a difficult trip to get to Bosnia."When you talk about the culture of the group, everyone adds value and contributes to what we're doing," she added."I said to the players whether you played or not you have contributed to the success of the group, it takes everyone."The travel day wasn't exactly smooth but to see the way the group look after each other in the airport that pleases me no end because that is the foundation you build team character and resilience on."
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Musk sends Republicans into chaos as he shreds Trump's ‘big beautiful bill' — ‘He doesn't get to vote'
Senate Republicans were in their luncheon as they begin the process to take up President Donald Trump's ' One Big, Beautiful Bill ' when Elon Musk blasted the legislation as an ' outrageous, pork-filled, disgusting abomination.' version of the massive domestic legislation bill that includes extending the 2017 tax cuts Trump signed, beefed up spending at the U.S.-Mexico border and oil drilling as well as massive changes to the social safety net in the United States. But just before Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the rest Republican leadership were about to begin their press conference, Musk, the just-departed head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, raged against the bill on X. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' he posted. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' Some Republicans sought to ignore it. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa — who recently came under criticism for dismissing constituents concerned over Medicaid cuts at a local town hall with her response, ' Well, we're all going to die ' — brushed off a question from The Independent as she exited the Capitol and got into her car. Sen. Rick Scott said he had not read the Musk tweet, a common refrain from politicians not wishing to discuss a hot topic. When The Independent offered to show it to him, he brushed it off. 'I want to get the tax cuts permanent, the border money, the military, but we've got to get spending under control,' Scott, an ally of Trump, told The Independent. 'So I'm going to continue to work to bring down the deficit, to hopefully balance the budget the next three years.' Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has in the past called for steeper cuts in the bill and praised Musk's comments, saying it 'bolsters' the points he made. "The only way I know how to do this is lay out the facts and figures and win the argument," Johnson told The Independent. Others, such as Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Katie Britt of Alabama, both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told The Independent they had not seen the tweet. Alabama's other Republican senator — Tommy Tuberville, a staunch ally of Trump — brushed off Musk's criticism. 'I ain't got any thoughts on that,' Tuberville said of the Musk posting. 'We got a lot of work to do. He doesn't get to vote.' House Speaker Mike Johnson, who spent weeks corralling various factions within the House GOP conference before he passed it in the wee hours of the morning last month before the House broke for recess, pushed back on Musk's criticism. 'It's very disappointing,' Johnson told reporters. 'With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the One Big, Beautiful Bill.' Other Republican senators made jokes about Musk's remarks. 'Does that mean he likes it?' Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio told The Independent. 'I think he's probably buying into the CBO scoring model, but look, ultimately, we haven't even gotten the bill yet right so we're gonna make it better.' The Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan body in Congress that scores how much legislation costs, estimated that extending the tax cuts in the bill would raise the debt by $3.8 trillion. But Republicans have pushed back on the estimate. Republicans have only 53 Senate seats, which is below the 60-seat threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. As a result, they hope to pass the bill through a process reconciliation, which allows them to pass legislation with a simple majority as long it relates to the budget. Musk recently exited the Trump administration after a months-long tenure at DOGE, where he slashed federal spending at numerous government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development. Other Republicans said they would work to improve the bill. 'He's certainly entitled his opinion,' Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who faces a tough primary challenge in Texas. 'And we're trying to make the bill better.' The bill is not the first time that Musk has wielded his significant following on X, the site then-known as Twitter that he purchased in 2022, to intervene in congressional affairs. In late 2024, he killed a bipartisan spending deal to keep the government open and said that the government should remain closed until Trump's swearing in. Musk pledged he would challenge any Republicans who voted for the bill. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' he said. Even Republicans who criticized the bill seemed to balk at Musk's intervention. When Musk tweeted 'Congress is making America bankrupt,' Paul tweeted 'Some of us are trying to stop that.' But when The Independent asked if Paul had seen Musk's first tweet, he said 'I haven't seen it' as he exited and got into an elevator.
