The buses that carry schoolchildren must be scrupulously safe. In 2015, 230,000 pupils travelled to and from school by public transport, according to the DGT.
We all have to pass the ITV. So too do the buses responsible for taking pupils to school. As the new school year is starting these days, we thought it would be a good time to explain what the Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) involves for the school buses in which our children travel every day: no fewer than 17,000 vehicles are used for this purpose across the country. In 2016, 25.4% of these vehicles failed their first inspection; despite this figure, however, the accident statistics for school buses suggest that it is a safe means of transport, according to the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT).
The regulation governing these inspections is Royal Decree 443/2001 of 27 April, together with its subsequent amendments. It works as follows: buses less than five years old must pass the ITV every year, while those over five years old must visit the corresponding station every six months. According to the Guardia Civil Traffic Group, the vast majority of school bus accidents happen on conventional roads; so no amount of monitoring and control of children’s mobility is ever too much.
Rates vary between Autonomous Communities
As with all other inspected vehicles, the cost of the test differs depending on the Autonomous Community we are in. So much so that in 2018 the gap between Andalusia and Extremadura was 51% (106.04 euros per bus in the former, and 52.86 euros in the latter). The companies that organise this type of transport are the ones responsible for the inspection, as well as for other obligations (documents, insurance…).
And what are these inspections like? Thorough, certainly, since they last around two hours. Administrative and technical checks and additional inspections to carry out the necessary verifications, of which there are quite a few: clearly visible signs for the transport of minors, child restraint systems, non-slip flooring, emergency exits, glass-breaking hammers, and so on.